PAX 2016: Living Nightmare
by Deliverer
Summary: PAX was supposed to be happy fun times. Unfortunately they never made it that far. Turns out you can't always trust cab drivers. Now Mark and Aaron [Yamimash] are in a situation they can't escape playing a twisted fan's delusional game. IRL. But as they delve deeper and deeper into danger and terror, they begin to suspect they may not be the intended victims here at all...
1. PAX 2015

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Trying something completely new for this story. This is my first attempt at writing for real actual people who aren't made up stories or characters. I usually try to shy away from writing for people who exist for various reasons. The foremost reason being because I can't claim to know how these people would think or act in various situations and so it doesn't feel right writing for them and putting thoughts and words into their mouths. However, it's highly, highly unlikely that Markiplier, Yamimash, or either of the other two surprise characters [or not so surprise given the characters I listed] who'll show up later would ever directly contact me and offer to be consultants on how to write them [Though I certainly wouldn't object], so I'm left to my own devices on that. Here goes nothing.

I hit severe writers block recently and couldn't think of anything to write; however, I had been watching a lot of Markiplier and Yamimash collabs, as well as their single player walkthroughs. I noticed that various comments left on their videos were asking when they'd be collabing again and why they weren't doing so very often anymore, so this little idea formed from there. I recalled an incident on another YouTube channel I used to watch where two of the key players had a falling out and never made up. They never worked together again. I got to thinking what if something like that were to happen with Mark and Aaron? What sort of scenario could be written from that? Probably nothing like that actually happened between them, but nonetheless it paved the way for this and gave me the idea. I was on writers block so I figured why not? Might as well give this fandom a shot. Enjoy.)

PAX 2015

How long had it been since their falling out? He honestly didn't even know anymore. Long enough. It still hurt, if he were to be completely honest, but then he guessed that was the way it always was when friendships fell apart or ended… You know, he couldn't even really remember what it was that drove the wedge between them, but it had happened. Well, he could remember he just… didn't remember why they hadn't been able to work it out or talk like, well, adults about it. He didn't remember why they hadn't even tried. Or maybe they had but there was a breakdown in communication somewhere there. He'd thought about contacting him before and attempting to repair the damage, but in the end he always chickened out. Maybe he was scared. Scared that even if he reached out, nothing would change.

YT

For the hundredth time he found himself about to contact his friend—ex-friend, rather—to do a collab of an interesting game or G-mod map he'd found. Quickly and sharply he reminded himself they were no longer friends. Then the questions 'why' or 'what' would appear… Why hadn't they made up yet? Why was he so angry? What was so hard about picking up a phone or emailing that he couldn't do it? What was so difficult about apologizing or forgiving? At least it would be an _attempt_ to talk things out and smooth stuff over. His stubborn pride, it seemed, wouldn't allow it though. Damn stubborn pride. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to make things right, it was just that, well, he didn't. He wasn't sure why he didn't, he just didn't. Again, probably stubborn pride.

YT

Aaron Ash turned his train of thought away from the whole sordid affair. He continued flipping through his mail. There were a lot of fan letters. Most came via e-mail, but there were a surprising number of letters sent as well. There were also various thank you notes for various functions he'd helped out with. Other than that there was the usual. Bills and such. He stopped, suddenly, at an official looking envelope. Well, this looked promising. Curious, he set the other mail to the side and opened the envelope up. He started. An invitation to PAX 2015. He frowned curiously. He didn't recall such a thing as personal invitations being sent before. Oh well. Many of his YouTuber friends were going as well, it seemed. He spotted a name on the sample list and cringed. That one included, apparently. For a moment he seriously considered not going, but… He sort of wanted to. He'd start preparing ASAP. San Antonio Texas was quite some distance away, after all. He would need to gather up quite a lot. It would be an expensive flight, plus hotels and meals and such.

YT

Mark Fischbach was reading through his many, many, many emails. They were all the usual and he did his best to answer what he could. Suddenly he paused. What was this now? An invitation. Well, why not open it up? He smiled and did so. It was an invite to PAX 2015! He'd forgotten one was coming up. Oh well! He started, reading a certain name. He grimaced and almost refused the invite, but he was bigger than that. Sure it would be a bit awkward, but there was no rule that said he had to hang out with the guy. Fans had been asking what had happened between them. Neither had ever answered. At least not directly. Maybe in a way that still showed they had respect for and maybe even still liked—not in that way, come _on_—each other? Oh who was he kidding? Wishful thinking. Still… He shook his head and accepted. Now to make the necessary preparations. He was _already_ excited.

2015

The nightmare started immediately upon arrival in San Antonio. No forewarning, no hint, no nothing. A taxi cab was waiting to pick them up. Yes. _Them_. As in _both_ of them. Together. In the same cab. Yes. Awkward city. In retrospect they probably should have questioned that. At the moment they'd been too upset to try. "Um, you know what, I could take another cab if it's too much trouble. Or, you know, if Mahk would rather go alone," Aaron said. Part of him didn't want to offer the ultimatum and in fact wanted to take the time to patch things up. That was a two way street, though, and if Mark wasn't ready to try as well, it was already doomed to failure.

"Yeah, might be best if Yami takes another taxi. Or I could, whatever works," Mark agreed. To hear those words kind of hurt, though. Bad. He kind of wanted to try and fix things, but… it seemed Aaron wasn't ready to bother. If Aaron wasn't ready, he could do dick all to fix this rift. That sort of thing required both sides working together, and if one of them wasn't ready, it wasn't going to happen. Oh, he just knew fans would be catching on soon to this, this, change perhaps was the word, between them. He dreaded the questions. He had no good answers. He really, really wished he did, but ultimately he had squat, nadda, zero, zip.

"It's no trouble. Quicker if you both ride together anyway, and cheaper. Doesn't look like any other cab is around," the driver replied.

YT

Driver won the argument in the end. Now they were sitting in silence in the back seat, trying to think of something to say or someway to strike up a conversation. "So, how's Jess?" Mark finally asked.

"Oh, she's good," Aaron answered. Well, _that_ was a busted conversation. He suddenly noticed Mark frowning, though. "Mark?" he asked.

Mark looked suddenly graver. More serious than Aaron had ever seen him before. He leaned back and looked over at his fellow YouTuber. "This isn't the way to PAX," he murmured in an undertone.

Aaron stiffened. That couldn't be good. "What do you mean this isn't the way to PAX?" he whispered, immediately nervous.

"I'm tellin' ya, this isn't the _way_," Mark replied. Not much else he could say.

Aaron cursed under his breath. He looked ahead to the driver. "Excuse me, sir," he said.

"Yes?" the driver asked.

"Would you mind terribly if we stopped? I've got to use the loo," Aaron replied.

"Sorry kid, no stopping until we get to our destination," the driver replied. Aaron sat back uncertainly. "If we hit a red light we can jump, perhaps. Can't we?"

"This guy is making a conservative effort _not_ to stop at a red lights, Yami," Mark replied. Oh it was official. He was thoroughly freaked out now.

"Maybe we can jump it regardless," Aaron replied, a hint of desperation creeping into his tone. Honestly, though, he knew full well that if they tried that at this speed, they'd end up either dead or with numerous broken limbs. Needless to say, neither outcome was very appealing to him.

"When he slows down we can _try_," Mark lamely said, shrugging. Key word 'try'. Truthfully, he had no clue if that would work or not, but if this was ending up as bad as he thought it might, jumping was probably the lesser of two evils. Oh yeah. Definitely.

YT

After some time the man pulled off of the freeway and onto a side road in a more isolated area. But not so isolated that no one would stop to help them after they jumped. Aaron and Mark nodded at each other and subtly reached to unbuckle their seatbelts. The man up front reached over, opening the dashboard, and grabbed out a pistol. He aimed it back at them in the next breath and said, "Don't even try."

"Oh my god! Mark, Mark, he has a gun! Oh Jesus Christ, Mark!" Aaron panicked in alarm, immediately drawing away from the buckle and cringing in the seat, practically trying to bury himself in the leather.

"Are you f***ing _crazy_? What are you _doing_?! What the _f**k_ man?!" Mark freaked, just as panicked as the other. Oh god, oh god, oh god, this wasn't happening to them. This wasn't _happening_.

"Don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt you," the man said, smirking at them in the mirror. He looked pleasant enough, but there was this look in his eyes… A crazy look that implied this man wasn't exactly all there. At all. Great. They were held at gunpoint by a complete nutcase. "I'm your biggest fan," the man said. "I love your videos."

"Th-th-thank you," Aaron stammered. "Now can we please leave? Do you want an autograph? Oh god, what do you want from us?"

"I want you to play a game I invented," the man replied.

"Games are good. We like games," Markiplier tightly said, hands part way up in a panicked hands-up sort of way.

"I hope you'll love this one, then. I worked very hard on it," the man said. "I noticed you two stopped making videos together. I was quite unhappy with that, so I designed this game in a way that you both needed to play it together."

"Just-just get us to-to PAX and we'll play your game, alright?" Aaron asked, voice wavering. "They'll have computers in the hotels or at the convention or somewhere. We'll play your game, just-just be cool man."

"My game isn't a computer game, Yamimash," the man replied.

"Oh god," Aaron groaned. Mark was pale and too stunned to even speak, mouth agape. This had to be some crazy nightmare. He'd wake up on the plane and they could just laugh this whole thing off. Yeah, that was it. This was all just some crazy nightmare. This wasn't real. Nope. Couldn't be… Oh god this was actually happening.

"What kind of game is it?" Mark finally managed to ask.

"You'll see, Markiplier," the man answered. "Just relax. It'll be over soon."

"Be over? What do you mean be _over_?!" Mark demanded, sitting bolt upright.

"Keep quiet," the man threatened, cocking the gun. "First one to speak gets a bullet to the leg. Neither of them dared to test that threat. Instead they sat as still as statues and about as quiet.

YT

It had been hours they were driving now. They'd almost attempted escape numerous times, but the man seemed to know exactly what they were planning and the gun always came out before they could try anything. Desperation was setting in and they intended to act on it the moment they could. They had no idea where they were, sure, but they'd run nonetheless… Or, you know, they could opt to live long lives and not. Yeah, they'd probably go with that. However, they had both been committing to memory the turns and such they'd taken. Just in case.

The cab pulled to a stop. "Get out," the man ordered. "Hands where I can see them. Markiplier first."

Mark kept his hands up except for when he reached for the handle. He opened the door and slowly got out. He thought about making a break for it but then decided that probably wouldn't be a great idea. On the other hand… Just then a bullet shot rang out and Aaron screamed in pain. Whoa now! Mark whirled in horror. "Aaron!" he exclaimed as he saw Aaron on the ground and bleeding from the leg. "What the f**k did you _do_ that for?!" Mark freaked.

"I had to ensure you wouldn't run," the man replied.

"Dammit! Aaron!" Mark exclaimed, swiftly moving to his friend's side. He was addressing him mentally as a friend again. Okay, let's go with that.

Aaron was crying out in pain and cursing. Mark quickly helped him to a sitting position. Aaron clutched the injury trying to stop the blood, gasping in pain. "Oh god!" he gasped, tossing his head back and willing away a woozy feeling.

"You're out of your mind!" Mark freaked at the stranger. He had no way to treat a _bullet_ wound! Here was hoping their captor did.

"Will you try to run now?" the man asked. Mark was silent. He had a point. A sadistic one but a point nonetheless.

YT

This couldn't be happening to him, this couldn't be happening to him! God damn it, he was bleeding out! He only vaguely registered Mark was nearby. He was a little too freaked to properly grasp it. "Help your friend up and follow me into the cabin. You try to run, he'll get another bullet. If _that_ doesn't work to stop you, you get the third," Aaron heard the man say. He felt himself being helped up and willed his brain to catch up to the events. _Now_ he registered Mark was there. They were moving towards a cabin. Aaron shook off the fog in his brain and blinked. The man was some distance ahead and not looking back. Pretty confident, wasn't he?

"Can-can we sneak quietly off?" Aaron asked.

"In _Texas_?" Mark incredulously asked. "It's not like there's much for forest here, Yami."

"Dammit. This hurts so bad," Aaron said through gritted teeth. "Mark, you need to make a run for it. His keys are still in the car. He's practically _giving_ you a way out."

"Because he knows there's no way in hell I'm leaving you _behind_," Mark replied.

"You can't very well help me if you're caught as well," Aaron said. "You totally have a chance, dude."

"You bet I do," Mark replied. "Still not gonna happen." Not like he could make it anyway. They were too far from the car now. He'd be shot long before he made it there, and that wouldn't do _anyone_ any good.

Aaron inwardly cursed. But they had a better chance sticking together, and he knew it full well. So did Mark, it appeared. Aaron knew that he himself was a little disoriented right now. Or it was the blood loss talking. Or he was genuinely willing to risk getting himself killed so that Mark could escape. He honestly couldn't deduce why he'd told Mark to run at the moment. Too much pain. Far, far too much pain. This-was-a living-hell.

The minute Mark and Aaron entered the building they were seized from behind. The two gave muffled cries as cloths were pressed over their mouths and noses. Oh how clichéd. Dizziness ensued. The next moment they passed out.


	2. Replicas: AmnesiaSCP Containment Breach

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Not all that familiar with SCP, but I'll try.)

Replicas: Amnesia and SCP Containment Breach

Aaron's eyes flickered painfully open. Ugh, where was he? Wait… He sat up quickly. He regretted it right after and gasped in pain, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. He waited for the wave of pain to pass then looked around. He was… on the ground…? With stain glass windows above him. And he was in a corridor that… He gasped, paling. That was reminiscent of _Amnesia_?! _What_?

He'd read fanfics about being thrust into videogames with other YouTubers, sure, but this… This was reality. There was no way of entering a game in reality, so this place was real. It was physical and here and… What the actual f**k? Wait. Where was Mark?! "Mark, Mark?!" he called out, staggering up. He winced in pain and looked down at the leg that had been shot. It had been bandaged and tended to, probably by their captors though Aaron wasn't sure why they would bother. He probably didn't _want_ to know, come to think of it. There had definitely been more than one.

He looked around nervously. What was he supposed to do? Just go at it and try to find his fellow YouTuber just like that? No instruction no anything? Well, the man _had_ said it was a game… Aaron shuddered. It looked like going at it was _exactly_ what he was supposed to do. Uneasily he started off. Oh this was bad, and his injury wasn't helping at all. How was he supposed to run—oh perish the thought he would have to run or fight back if something, rather someone, came after him—in this condition? He guessed he'd soon find out, because he sensed full well he would definitely have to run at some point.

YT

"Help! Hey, can anyone hear me? Help!" Mark called, banging on the metal walls. Oh this was bad. This was _beyond_ bad. This was a _nightmare_. It was one thing to play a horror game, another totally different thing trying to live one. This was right out of a horror film! He looked around his prison in mounting dread. This room was ripped right from the game _The Room_ that he'd played a while back. Right down to the creepy pictures on the walls. About as dark too. Except this room had metal walls like many, many, many other horror games he'd played that started out in some metal prison or room or what not. He couldn't really remember if _The Room_ had had metal walls as well or not. Oh yeah, and there was a computer in this room. Aaron? Where was Aaron…?

"Banging on the walls isn't going to solve anything, Markiplier. Come on, you're better at horror games than this," a voice said. The man's!

"This isn't a game, this is a _felony_!" Mark shot back. "Where's Aaron, dammit?! Look, he can't play with a bullet to the leg! Let him go to a hospital to get it fixed up and _then_ we can play your game." If Aaron could get in contact with someone, they could get out. Maybe this guy was enough of a whack job that he could be tricked.

"I'd worry more about yourself right now. You don't need to worry about Yamimash anymore," the man cryptically stated. Mark felt a chill go through him. He stood. Anymore? What did he mean by 'anymore'?

"Don't have to worry about… What do you mean? Where's Yami? Where's my friend?!" Mark demanded furiously. Fury masked his fear.

"He's… out of the picture," the man answered.

Mark felt his heart plummet. Oh no… "Where-is-Aaron? _Tell_ me! Is he alive? Come on, tell me _something_, please! Is Aaron alive?!"

"You're not disappointing your fans, Markiplier. Good. Neither is Yamimash. Your friend is alive. For now," the man answered via intercom. "But we should hear him screaming right about… Now!" the man said.

Right on cue a scream was heard over a computer. Mark spun around, eyes wide in horror and paled. He was shown on one Camera, Aaron on another. This crazy person was live streaming _all_ of this! Which meant in this guy was as cuckoo as he suspected, probably everyone at PAX was seeing it and all their fans around the world as well which meant… Which meant this was the nightmare of all nightmares. News stations would be on this in a minute, something like this happening at something like PAX. Police forces were probably already out searching. Usually that would mean there was hope, except… Except if this guy felt confident enough about live-streaming things, he had to be pretty damn confident they couldn't find this place… And by extension him and Yami. Yes, he used the nickname he called his friend on collabs. Even to Aaron's face at times.

Mark raced to the computer, gawking at it in horror. "Oh god, Aaron!" he exclaimed. This couldn't be happening. "Run! Run!" he called to the monitor desperately. Wait… Aaron _couldn't_ run with that leg! At least not as fast as he could have _without_ the injury.

YT

Aaron was walking through the corridor guardedly. Every noise made him jump. You couldn't die in a computer game. You _could_ die in real life. He pulled close to the wall, inching cautiously along it. He thought he heard noises. He peered around a corner. Nothing. A chest was there. He went to it and opened it up. He started. "Tinderboxes and _oil_?!" he exclaimed in shock. "He _is_ copying Amnesia!" Which was probably a good thing. If there was any game Aaron Ash knew how to play it was Amnesia. It was like the initiation game of practically every major YouTuber out there. It had been Mark's first, he believed, though he could be wrong. And Felix's—better known as PewDiePie—first as well. Now where was a lantern?

He looked around. There was a desk. He went to it and opened the safe portion. Wow, this replication was amazing, he had to say. The one who had kidnapped them was a nut job, but he knew his details. The lantern sat inside. Aaron took it out and filled it with the oil. He took the other oil container. There was a bag provided as well. Good. Things didn't go into an inventory IRL. He couldn't very well have shoved the things he'd collected into his pockets or an invisible rift in time and space. He put the tinderboxes and oil inside of the bag, shouldered it, and stood with the lantern, looking uneasily around. "Where do I start looking?" he asked aloud. He spotted a note and picked it up. The instruction was simple. He cringed as he read it.

_Run, Hide, or Die. Pray you survive long enough to find your friend._

"Oh, how charming," Aaron sarcastically said to himself. It was something of a comfort to hear a voice. Even if it was only his own.

"I must say I'm surprised, Yamimash. So far you've been more productive than _Markiplier_ has," a voice said via intercom. Aaron yelped, jumping and spinning, looking around. He took it back! This voice certainly was _not_ a comfort to hear.

"Wh-where's Mark?!" he immediately called out.

"That's your job to figure out," the voice said. "Preferably before dying."

"_Dying_?!" Aaron exclaimed.

"You didn't think you could play my game and not worry about enemies, did you?" the man asked. Aaron paled. The other people… Oh, this was bad. Very bad. "A lot of work went into the Grunt and Brute costumes. I think you'll appreciate them."

"No, no, I don't think I will, actually," Aaron answered, dryly swallowing and shifting uncomfortably. Now he was on edge. Really, really on edge. This was so bad. Worse than bad. This was f***ing _hell_.

"Have fun," the voice said. The voice went quiet. At least he knew Mark was alive, Aaron told himself. Himself he wasn't so sure about. He was alive now. Question was could he _stay_ that way?

Amnesia

Aaron pressed onwards. He had to find his friend. In all honesty that was the only thing keeping him from curling up in a ball and just hoping it ended soon. He had to find Mark. They could still get out of this… Oh _please_ say they could still get out of this… He came to a hallway with various doors. Cautiously he pushed one open and entered. He found some tinderboxes and oil. A few glow sticks and a flare or two too. Throw back to a couple horror games he'd played, he supposed. They would most definitely come in handy later. Oh and look, a cupboard. "Oh I hate cupboards," he muttered aloud. It was okay, it was alright. In real life things didn't fly from cupboards to jump scare you. He went towards it and opened the doors. He regretted it right after. Staring at him was the figure of a Grunt! "Yes they can!" he screamed out in terror, bolting for the door.

The person disguised as a Grunt gave a moan that was almost a precise replica and advanced suddenly and quickly. Aaron screamed in terror as it barrelled down on him. "Oh god!" he exclaimed, stumbling into another doorway that led to more hall. Adrenaline kicked in and he went charging down said hall, forgetting the pain in his leg or the injury. He was getting farther and farther away. He threw open the door to a room and raced inside, slamming it shut. Quickly he ran to a cupboard, hoped to god there was nothing inside, jerked it open, and dove inside. He pushed open the door slightly, peeking out and shaking, willing the pursuer away.

The adrenaline dying off, he felt the pain and cried out, holding the injury. He looked down at it. It was bleeding through. Great. He'd reopened it. Just his luck. The door to the room was opening! He stopped thinking about that and blew out the lantern leaving himself in darkness. The 'Grunt' entered, still making the moaning sounds. Wow, whoever was in that costume had it down to a 'T'. Ugh, why was he appreciating the handiwork of a madman? But seriously, it was really good. After a few moments the Grunt lumbered out of the room.

YT

Mark, watching in horror, finally felt his heart starting to slow down again. He gave a gasp of relief, falling back onto the floor and looking at the monitor in horror. That-had been-_too_ close. He looked around. He had to get to Aaron! His friend's luck wouldn't hold out for long. There was a vent in the game _The Room_, he remembered. He looked around for it. There it was! He went to the boxes there and climbed up onto them. He pried at it. Dammit. He needed a way to get those screws out. He began searching around the room. Well, if this was a replica of _The Room_…

He went to the spot where he'd found the thingy to get into the vent with before. Sure enough it was still there. He took it quickly and hurried to the vent, starting to unscrew it. He pulled the vent cover down and cheered. Quickly he climbed up into it and began pulling himself along. Wow this was a tight fit. "I'm coming, Yami," he muttered to himself. Really more to reassure himself that he was actually doing something that would help them out of this disaster.

Soon he reached the end of the vent and shoved out the other side of it. He looked down cautiously. Nothing was there. He leapt down from said vent and looked around cautiously. What was _this_ now? Wait… He paled. "Oh no," he groaned. _SCP Containment Breach_! "God f***ing dammit!" he yelled aloud.

"Well done, Markiplier. You're getting somewhere finally. My, my, my, your fans and Yamimash's fans are in a panic over you, aren't they? Not to mention your friends at PAX. Well, you're one step closer to being back with them again."

"Oh that's _so_ reassuring!" Mark sarcastically replied.

"Ooh, you might want to hurry. Yamimash isn't doing so well," the man said.

Mark paled and looked over at a computer monitor. He hesitated, but after a moment he went to it and turned it on. He gasped. A Brute was right around the corner Aaron was heading for! "Aaron, don't!" he called. Yes, he knew his buddy couldn't hear him. Instinct, okay?!

YT

Aaron rounded the corner and screamed. Right in front of him was a Brute! It charged. He turned to try and flee, but he was more limping than anything. Limping badly. The re-opened injury had weakened him significantly and slowed him even more. The 'Brute' was covering the distance. There was no way he was outrunning this thing!

Aaron looked back in terror. It was almost on him! "No!" he exclaimed. He dove for a chair, seizing it. In horror games you usually didn't have the luxury of a weapon. In fact you weren't even supposed to be able to pick one up. Cough, cough, _Phobia_. He was still peeved about that kitchen knife. However, IRL was a different story. You _could_ defend yourself with anything you saw fit to use as a weapon or shield. He turned over as the 'Brute' lunged, attacking him and trying to go stab happy on him. Luckily the chair—ironic given how much he despised chairs—protected him.

"Help! Somebody help me! Oh god, please!" Aaron cried out desperately. He knew no one would come. He was on his own here. Aaron began reaching for something that could be used to defend himself. His hand closed on the lantern. His eyes widened and without thinking he swung it around, smashing it into the 'Brute's' head. The 'Brute' cried out in pain, a distinctly human cry which reaffirmed it was indeed a person behind the mask, and Aaron kicked up as hard as he could, ignoring the pain and sending the 'Brute' over his head. He staggered up, scratched up slightly but otherwise none the worse for wear say for the bullet wound, and began running—correction limping—again. But he was leaving a blood trail behind. That was a bad sign. It meant he was at risk of bleeding out or some other such thing. He couldn't bleed out! Not now! Quickly he made his escape into another room and hallway.

"Oh yeah, baby! Score one for IRL! Eat it, Video Game logic!" Yamimash cheered to himself. "No rules in _reality_ keeping me from using the environment to my advantage! Oh if only I could have done this in Phobia."

YT

Mark—who had nearly had a heart-attack on watching the scene might he add—blew out a stream of air, trying to calm down. He had to get out there and find Aaron. Once they regrouped they could figure out what to do. Or at least _try_ to. He looked around the place he was and shuddered. Oh he didn't relish navigating through this nightmare. He took a deep breath and looked around for something that would be of use to him. Squat. Figured. Fine, whatever, he'd deal, he supposed… F**k his life… He looked around once more and grabbed a pen. Didn't know what the heck a pen would do, but hey, it had a sharp tip. If he swung hard enough it could at least scratch something if nothing else. Or puncture a neck. He almost laughed at himself. And the fact this pen of all things was his only weapon in this horror. On the bright side maybe he'd find a tiny replica of Tiny Box Tim from _Amnesia_. Inwardly—and dryly—he chuckled at the thought.

He took a breath and started off, his foots echoing metallically. "Oh this is bad. This is very, very bad," he muttered to himself. Of course the SCPs that would show up here wouldn't be the ones from the game—thank god—but it wasn't as if a following of crazed butt stabbers was much better. In fact probably worse. He shuddered on hearing footsteps. He ducked low and peered over the edge of the walkway he was on. Down below was one of the people in an SCP-173 costume! He shuddered and continued, silently moving along the upper walkway. He rounded a corner when suddenly a costumed SCP-096 appeared right in front of him! He screamed, leaping up and instantly fleeing. The dressed up butt stabber raced after him, but Mark was quick on his feet. He darted through one door and grabbed a keycard laying there. Probably a prop for this twisted madman's game. Here was hoping it worked. He turned, drawing it in front of the scanner, and the door shut.

"Eccentric billionaire, definitely eccentric billionaire," he tightly said, backing away from the door slowly. No one else would have the money or time to do this. He ran to the next one and swiped the keycard. The door opened and he ran through. He swiped it again, shutting the door behind him. Well, at least they'd narrowed the search to billionaire's. Somehow that wasn't reassuring. Oh he hoped the police were getting somewhere in their investigation. On the bright side if this was being streamed live, anything he said out loud could help the officers with their investigation. He had a sneaking suspicion microphones were everywhere in this area, wherever it was. Oh look, there was one now. Really high-powered too.

YT

He started off slowly, every muscle tensed for another IRL jumpscare. As if they weren't bad enough in horror games, now he was facing them in reality! He was about 100 times more likely to die of a heart attack now, he dryly joked to himself. Right. Not funny. Especially not if it actually happened. Far as he knew he didn't have any heart conditions, but he wasn't about to test that theory or develop one because some whack job decided to kidnap him and put him in a maze of impending doom. Nope. No way. He would not be a victim.

He swiped the keycard in another door. It opened up. Right in front of him was SCP-372. Mark froze and blinked at it. The masked perpetrator glared back at him. "H-Hi…" Mark tightly said. The masked figure lunged. "What is this, a Scooby-Doo mystery?!" Mark freaked. He ducked under the lunging figure and raced passed. Hah! Couldn't do _that_ in SCP Containment Breach. He darted forward and scanned another door. He raced through and took a right. He got into another door and found a keycard. Quickly he snatched it and entered yet another. Why so many doors?! You know what, he didn't even want to know. Far as he could tell this place was a replica of probably one of the randomized maps of the game. Unfortunately one he hadn't played. He knew enough about it, though, to realize that there would be many doors still to come. He darted into one of these said doors and shut it behind him. He turned quickly and gasped. The plexiglass box! He looked anxiously around. There was nowhere to run! He cursed under his breath and began looking around.

After a few minutes he decided he wasn't going to find anything of worth here. He shifted nervously, looking at the door. Well, time to go out there and start searching again. He looked around for something better than a pen to use as a weapon. It was said that 'The Pen is Mightier than the Sword'. Well that may be true in _most_ cases, but this wasn't one of them. He approached the door apprehensively. He lifted the keycard and paused. Oh he had a bad, bad feeling about this. He took a deep breath and swiped it. The door opened. He would have bolted except…

YT

"Oh god, no!" he screamed. SCP-173 was right _there_! "Oh get away from me, you bitch! Oh you bitch!" he exclaimed, immediately racing away. The costumed person followed him quickly. He tried to run to the door, but SCP-173 was determined not to let that happen. It blocked Mark at every turn. The door shut behind it. It approached slowly and determinedly. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die," Mark tensely said, backing away. It lunged. He cried out and dodged around it, getting to the door and getting out of the room. He ran blindly through the facility on and on. He didn't even care anymore where he was going, as long as he was staying ahead of these dressed up crazy psycho killer people!

He suddenly stopped running. Wait. When had it gotten so _dark_? A door was up ahead. He approached it and walked outside. He started, finding himself on a glass walkway. Okay, this was a good sign… He hoped… He continued cautiously onward. He took some stairs and came out into a forest. Okay, where the hell _were_ they? This _definitely_ was not San Antonio anymore… Which was exceedingly bad. "We're not in San Antonio anymore," he said out loud on the chance this part was being live-streamed as well. Then the police or FBI—he doubted they'd get involved, but hey, you could hope—or whatever would know to search elsewhere. He started walking through the woods. Suddenly there was a sound. He started and turned.

"Oh my god! No! Help me!" he exclaimed, seeing SCP-096 lunging for him. There was no way he'd move in time! The figure grabbed him, spinning him around, and went to break his neck!

All at once the figure gave a strangled cry, jerking back. The person inside the costume made a gurgling sound. The person's knees buckled. Mark pulled away and whirled. He gawked in horror as the stranger fell to his or her knees. The person fell to the ground, unmoving. Mark, still gaping, looked slowly up. He jumped in alarm as from behind a tree a figure stumbled out holding a broken chair leg, splintered and sharp at one end… and now covered in blood… Mark couldn't believe his eyes. "Y-Yami…" he finally managed to stammer in a hoarse whisper, stunned. What-had he-just witnessed…?


	3. Regrouping

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

Regrouping

Aaron withdrew the chair leg from the person's back, lips parted in shock. He looked down at the figure, stunned, then slowly looked up. Mark felt his stomach knot. The guy was pale. Far, far too pale. Like he'd lost much too, much too, much blood. The shock he saw in his friend's eyes wasn't helping matters. "L-looks like _I_ get to be the man in the relationship this round, Mark," he numbly remarked.

Mark could only swallow tightly and look down at the body. He knelt and removed the head of the costume. It was a man inside. Just a man. Shakily he reached out, feeling for a pulse. There was nothing… Mark looked up. Aaron was gazing at the chair leg in his hand in—for lack of better word—emotionlessness. Suddenly he dropped it and gasped, falling back against a tree. His pupils were dilated, Mark noticed. Shock. Dammit! "Aaron," he worriedly said, quickly moving towards his friend. He paused, though, before getting too close. That might set him off.

"I… he… that… He's d-dead, isn't-isn't he…?" Aaron numbly gasped, visibly shaking now.

Mark was quiet. "It's okay, buddy, it's okay. Just… just take a deep breath…" he said. He tried to sound calm and reassuring and solid, but his voice was wavering nervously.

"He… dead… I… I killed… I killed him…" Aaron stammered.

"Aaron, listen to me, okay? It was an accident. You didn't mean to…" Mark began.

"But I did!" Aaron suddenly blurted, sobbing and sinking down against the tree, burying his face in his knees. "I did, I did. I meant to-I meant to-to kill him. I _meant_ to!"

"Yami, snap out of it!" Mark shot, quickly kneeling in front of his friend. Shock was something they couldn't deal with right now. There was no time for Aaron to go into shock!

"I-I meant to kill him. I meant to kill him! I had to, I _had_ to! He-he was going to kill _you_. He was going to kill you and then me and, and I couldn't let him!" Aaron sobbed.

"You didn't have a choice! Dammit, Aaron, stay with me!" Mark insisted, firmly seizing the younger man's shoulders. Yami looked up quickly, eyes terrified. His pupils were still dilated. He was still shaking. Mark swallowed tightly and examined his friend. He caught his breath, noticing the dressing on the bullet wound that was now soaked red in blood. In fact said blood was leaking down Aaron's pant leg, which meant he was losing far too much blood far too quickly. This incident wasn't helping matters. That bullet had to have his something more important than first thought. Couldn't be a main artery or Aaron would be dead, but it hit something big. Of course he didn't really know all that much about the human body and whatnot. He just knew too much blood was being lost. What if it was getting infected too?

"He's dead because of me, Mahk, he's dead! I killed a man! I-I _murdered_ him!" Aaron said.

Mark was quiet. He couldn't deny that. It was right there. He'd seen it. "It was self-defence," he finally replied. Yes, Aaron had killed the man. No, despite Mark's words to his friend there _had_ been a choice. However, Aaron was suffering blood-loss. That would have hindered his judgement, right? Plus the guy was going into shock anyway probably even before that, which also would have hindered judgement. And yes, dammit, yes it had been self-defence! Okay, so Aaron had killed the guy to save _his_ sorry hide—dammit if he'd been able to find a weapon of his own, his friend wouldn't have had to go through this—but it was still self-defence! The man would have killed Aaron next. The man would have, would have…

YT

Mark almost sobbed himself, but he couldn't. Right now he needed to be strong for his friend. Right? _Right_? F**k… Yami was still practically a _kid_… Don't tell _him_ that though, Mark inwardly added to himself in an attempt to make himself smile. Yeah, that attempt failed… Mark remembered reading the comments section on one of his Prop Hunt or Murder or Terrorist Town—most probably—videos… He remembered seeing so many that called Yami 'the kid' or mentioned that they thought he was a kid at first. It only hit him now, really, how much of a ring of truth those remarks had had in them… Compared to a lot of other YouTuber friends of theirs, Aaron _was_ the kid. Come to think of it he might be the youngest of _all_ the major named YouTubers they collabed with, if not _the_ youngest…

Oh man… Yami shouldn't have had to _do_ that… Not for him, not for _anyone_! It should have been him who had had to do it… It should have been him… He would have _gladly_ done the deed if it had spared his friend—huh, he was calling Aaron friend again—_this_… Aaron was still in shock, still shaking. He was still silently crying. Suddenly he retched. Mark quickly moved to him and helped his friend lean over. He stayed quiet as Aaron vomited on the ground. The nausea was probably a combination of blood loss, shock, and realization all at once, no doubt. Soon his friend stopped. Still shivering, still pale and in shock, but no longer vomiting. He couldn't look at the body, though. Honestly Mark couldn't either.

He felt his mouth quivering and knew he was near to tears himself. He choked back a sob and pulled Aaron close, hugging him tightly. Aaron stayed still. Mark drew back and put Aaron's arm around his shoulders, staggering up to help him rise. The guy was literally ready to pass out now, and could hardly move. He needed to get him away from the body, though. Quickly Mark helped Aaron through the forest away from the grisly scene. He left the chair leg behind. Probably stupid to leave their only weapon behind, but… something told him Aaron wouldn't be able to use it again; and he certainly didn't think _he_ could. That move had taken guts. Like big time. The motivating factors must have been through the _roof_ to get Aaron to react like that… You know, IRL when push came to shove, Aaron was just the type of guy who _would_ probably die for his friends or kill for them. Of course he couldn't claim to know that for sure, he couldn't read his friend's mind, but this was pretty convicting evidence to the point. Probably would never know until a situation like that happened in reality, though, so they probably had nothing to worry about… Wait, this _was_ real life… This _was_ actually happening… He felt himself nearly gag before forcing it back.

YT

They had found a cabin in the woods. Given the many horror games they'd played, and horror movies they'd watched, cabins in the woods were never a good thing. But they'd needed to rest. Aaron's wound needed to be dressed and he needed to relax for a while and collect himself and his strength. Aaron sat listlessly on the bed. Mark busied himself looking around the house for anything useful. Aaron watched silently. Didn't look like he was—it looked as if he were staring ahead at nothing in fact—but he was aware. Actually, in a way he guessed he kind of _was_ still staring at nothing and unresponsive. He knew full well he was in a state of shock. He was watching and observing Mark bustling around, though. It was soothing to have someone nearby. Mark thought he was still completely out of it, he knew. He wasn't about to give proof to the contrary. He needed… he needed to work this out for himself for a bit…

Mark soon came back, a bag filled with potentially useful items with him. He paused, looking at him. Aaron knew he should try to say something. It was painfully obvious that the older boy, young man, whatever, was worried sick for him. Hell, he was worried sick for _himself_. Mark wasn't exactly what one would call 'doctor material'. Aaron was acquainted with Mark's Surgeon Simulator play through. Judging by _that_ fiasco, it was probably best Mark _stayed_ that way. His mouth twitched in a slight smirk before fading. "You smiled, that's good. I hope," Mark said to him. Aaron was quiet. "Or not…" Mark added.

Aaron was quiet. He looked at the newly dressed wound. For not being doctor material, Mark had done a pretty bang up job of redressing the bullet injury, he had to say. "I really killed a man… didn't I…?" Aaron asked.

Mark was quiet. "Yeah…" he finally replied. He kind of sort of wanted to try and make Aaron feel better about it, tell him it wasn't his fault and that he hadn't had much of an option, except he already had, multiple times, and it still didn't feel like something Aaron wanted or needed to hear at the moment, so forget _that_ idea. The less said the better. "Thank you… Yami, I'm sorry… You shouldn't have had to do that…" Mark said. "God I wish I could make it so none of it ever happened. You shouldn't have had to do that. Not for me not for anyone."

"It was him or you… _Wasn't_ it?" Aaron asked uncertainly.

Mark was quiet. "Yeah…" he finally admitted. "Yeah, it was him or me…" And honestly, it really _had_ been at that point.

Aaron looked up. "Then I don't regret it," he said. "Well, I do, but… you get the picture…"

"Two heads better than one and all that," Mark replied, smirking weakly and worriedly. "You lost a lot of blood. You should probably lay down or sleep or something."

"Thought you weren't supposed to sleep when in shock or suffering massive blood loss," Aaron replied.

"How the hell should _I_ know what you're supposed to do?" Mark hopelessly asked, shrugging. At the moment he couldn't remember any medical stuff or tidbits or what not. He was still overwhelmed and really just relieved to be out of SCP.

YT

"How… how'd you get out of the Amnesia replica…?" Mark finally questioned.

"I found the key," Aaron replied. "Same as in the games… It wasn't too hard… Okay it was, and terrifying too, but I did it."

"Probably won't be the last we see of it, then," Mark said.

"God I hope you're wrong, Mark," Aaron replied, laying back on the bed and closing his eyes while holding his head. "I just want to go home…" he murmured, voice breaking.

"Hey, hey, listen to me. We'll get out of this, Aaron. We'll get you back home. You'll see Jess again and your mom and your friends and the people who care about you," Mark promised.

Aaron whimpered and drew his hands down his face, sniffing. "I assume that promise includes you getting out as well?" he asked.

"I _hope_ so," Mark replied. "_I'm_ not looking to go anytime soon." Aaron was silent. "Aaron?" he asked.

"I'm not letting you die for me, Mark," he said flat out. Mark inwardly cringed. Observant guy.

"Who says I'd die for you?" he joked, smirking.

Aaron chuckled. "I guess time will tell," he replied. "But if it looks like it's heading that way, I'm not going to let you die for me."

"We'll see, kid," Mark teased, playfully ruffling his hair. Aaron dryly chuckled. First time Mark had used _that_ term in teasing for a while.

"I'm not a kid," Aaron protested.

"Whatever you say, kid," Mark teased again.

"Don't call me that!" Aaron said.

"What? You are," Mark said, grinning playfully.

Aaron chuckled dryly. "I _wish_ I still was…" he murmured. "Killing someone sort of strips the innocence from you, though."

Mark's smile fell. "Let's… not talk about that now," he said. Aaron nodded in agreement and slowly sat up.

"Oh wow I feel dizzy," he said.

"No wonder. I'm surprised you didn't pass out," Mark replied. "How did you _make_ it so far on your own?"

"Adrenaline rush, I guess," Aaron replied, shrugging. "I honestly have no bloody clue."

YT

No one spoke for a moment. Finally Mark looked up and said, "You know, I don't even remember what we were fighting about…"

Aaron was quiet. "Me neither," he admitted finally. He looked up at Mark. "So what? That's it? We make up and everything's hunky dory between us again?"

"Not a lot of room right now to hold grudges," Mark admitted. "I'm up for picking up the friendship from where we left off without question. If you are too then let's do it. We can work personal problems out later, but right now I'm just glad you're still here."

"Friends?" Aaron asked, offering his hand.

"Don't get sappy on me," Mark teased, shaking. "But yeah. Cliched as this is, might as well get the elephant in the room out. We're friends. Don't think we ever stopped _being_ friends, honestly."

"We have time for sap. Not like there's anything _else_ to do," Aaron said, shrugging. "So, what do we know other than this guy is filthy rich and has some friends helping him out?" Mark frowned. Aaron's smirk fell. "Mark?" he asked. Mark knew something he didn't. Aaron didn't like it.

Mark looked up at him, suddenly grave. "He's recording us. Every move we make, everything we do, he's recording it… And live-streaming it… Microphones are all over the place, so are cameras.

Aaron stiffened. "Which-which means…" he began, piecing it together.

Mark nodded. "Which means our fans around the world are watching this, news channels may or may not be reporting on it, police if not the FBI are investigating, and everyone at PAX probably knows by now that we're in deep s**t," he confirmed.

"God _damn_ it…" Aaron numbly said, looking nervously around.

"Yeah. It's bad," Mark stated, nodding.

YT

Again there was silence. Suddenly Aaron chuckled. "I got something for you, Mark," he said.

Mark gave him a curious look. "When the hell did you have time to _get_ me something?" he asked.

"Oh, when I was running through Amnesia," he answered. He reached into the bag and pulled something out with a smirk. He tossed it over and Mark caught it curiously.

Mark looked at it and gasped. "Tiny Box Tim!" he exclaimed in shock and surprisingly enough delight. Wow, this crazed butt stabber had left no detail out. Aaron laughed. Mark smiled. At least he had laughed. It was something, at least, that hinted Aaron might still be able to come back from this thing. "Oh Tiny Box Tim, you're here!"

"No need to thank me," Aaron joked. Mark looked over at his friend. Unfortunately he had every reason to thank Aaron, and he wished more than anything that he could take away about ninety-nine percent of it. Cough, cough, the death.

"Thanks anyway," he replied, smirking.

"I'm going to be incarcerated for murder…" Aaron suddenly and hollowly said. Mark cringed. Part of Mark was hoping Aaron would block the incident out somehow. The other part believed that blocking it would only make it worse in the long run.

"Not if _I_ can help it," Mark replied.

"What the hell can you do, Mark?" Aaron questioned, burying his face in his hands.

"Guess we'll find out," Mark replied. He wasn't about to give _that_ fight up.

"And the fangirls went wild," a voice said over an intercom, making the two jump.

YT

"It's him! It's the guy!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Is there nowhere _private_ anymore?!" Mark demanded.

"You're boring your audience Markiplier, Yamimash. It's time you did something productive again," the voice said.

"We can't do anything until Aaron's leg heals a bit better!" Mark protested. "He can't move fast in this condition! He needs to rest and get some strength back!"

"Unacceptable," the man said.

"Well then you shouldn't have _shot_ me!" Aaron sharply and angrily shot.

The man was silent a moment before finally replying, "Point taken. Unfortunately, it's too late for regrets. I'd advice you start moving, boys. Slenderman waits for no one."

"Wait, what?!" Mark exclaimed.

"Oh no, not Slender," Aaron groaned.

"How the heck did they replicate _Slendy_?" Mark asked. Aaron hopelessly shrugged. They'd soon find out. The noises of static played over the intercom. Like Slender was close. "Come on, let him rest, please! Just for a couple more hours!" Mark insisted, worried for his friend. No reply. Which meant no negotiations. "Dammit."

Aaron staggered up, closed his eyes, and willed back a wave of dizziness. "Let's get going before it's too late. I can handle it for a while," he urgently said. Mark nodded reluctantly in agreement. Quickly the two headed for the back door. No sooner had they exited it when they heard the front door open as something entered the room they'd just been in. The two grimaced, exchanging uncertain glances, and hurried into the woods.


	4. Replicas: Slenderman

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

Replicas: Slenderman

It was pitch black. Aaron still had the lantern from _Amnesia_, though, and Mark had picked up a flashlight and batteries in the cabin. They decided they'd use the flashlight first and conserve the lantern for emergencies. "This is creepy as f**k, man," Aaron remarked.

"At least we're together," Mark jokingly replied.

Aaron paused, spotting a paper. "Over there," he said, approaching it. He pulled it from the tree. "He watches," Aaron read.

"No kidding," Mark dryly replied, recalling they were being recorded.

"This is actually happening…" Aaron murmured.

"Oh yeah," Mark stated. They were quiet. "You know what? No. I'm not gonna live this nightmare in a constant state of panic."

"We've kind of never had a better reason to panic before, Mark," Aaron bluntly replied.

"When life gives you lemons make lemonade," Mark stated boldly.

"What lemonade can we possibly make out of _these_ lemons?!" Aaron demanded.

"He wants this to be a playthrough? Let's _make_ it a playthrough. This shall be remembered throughout the ages as our greatest victory! He wants to play a game? Well, we can play a game," Mark said. "Besides, could use a little mood lightening anyway."

"So… we make this like we're just playing a game," Aaron repeated dubiously.

"If we're going to die out here, we might as well do it in style and have a little fun too. We can handle this, Yami. We're the best," Mark said.

"Dude, you're going to so tick off the Crazed Butt Stabber," Aaron replied, smirking.

"Well he deserves it!" Mark stated.

Aaron was silent a moment, thinking. "You know what? Let's do this thing," he finally said, grinning.

YT

"Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier," Mark said.

"And I'm Yamimash," Aaron stated.

"Let's get right into it, shall we? Yami and I are delving into the blackest depths of human crazed butt stabberyness and taking on our biggest challenge yet. IRL!" Mark said.

"And we're probably going to die doing it, so might as well get it done with, hey Mark?" Aaron asked.

"You bet," Mark replied.

"Fighting for survival, running from monsters from our past horror playthroughs, and generally trying desperately to survive while the authorities find us," Aaron said. "So yeah, this should be quite interesting."

"This may be our last collab, last video in fact, ever. It's been a pleasure doing this for you guys. A big thank you to all our fans out there and our friends and families. You were all such wonderful support and I wish we could have known each and every one of you. I'd love to do a touching possibly maybe goodbye video, but as you can see we kind of don't have much time for sentiments," Mark said.

"We love you all. Really we do," Aaron added. "If this is the last time you ever see us again, well… we're sorry… but looks like this time we're all out of time for real. Farewell. Sing no sad songs and all that there stuff."

"We're trying hard to get back to you all, but as Yami said, if this doesn't play through then sayonara," Mark agreed.

"Mark, I just want you to know it has been an absolute pleasure and delight working so close with you these past few years, and I have been truly, truly blessed and honored to have known you," Aaron said, turning to Mark. "I love you man!"

"I love you too, Yami!" Mark said. The two bro-hugged tightly then drew apart. "Stay tuned, guys, and hopefully there'll _be_ a next video for you to _see_," Mark added.

"Insert Scooby-Doo theme song here," Aaron dryly joked. Mark tightly laughed.

"Oh s**t, it's Slender!" Aaron exclaimed. "_Wow_ that's a good replica."

Mark turned quickly. "Oh f**k! I don't want any, I don't want any! Run!" Mark cried out. Immediately the two bolted.

"F**k me, f**k me, f**k me," Aaron repeated over and over.

"Well, if you insist," Mark teased.

Aaron laughed tightly. That laugh didn't last long. "It's getting closer! Mark, Mark, it's getting closer!" Aaron fearfully exclaimed. He knew full well he wasn't going fast enough. He knew Mark was keeping to his pace. Mark cursed under his breath and dragged Aaron along faster. Aaron cried out in pain and bit his tongue. Time to tough it out. Just tough it out. It was tough it out or die. Of course if the blasted wound kept reopening before it could heal, he'd probably end up dying _anyway_. From one bullet shot to the leg. Just his freaking luck.

"Keep moving, Yami, just keep moving!" Mark insisted. They were getting farther from the person, after all. If their kidnapper was following the game, the Slender masquerader couldn't move too quickly yet. But if Aaron was having trouble keeping ahead _now_, what would happen as they went on? The seriously worried him.

"Oh god, don't leave me," Aaron begged in fear.

"Dude, I have no intentions whatsoever of abandoning you to save my own skin," Mark replied. Aaron nodded.

YT

Soon enough they stopped to rest. Mark sat Aaron down and shone the flashlight on the injury. He grimaced. It was starting to bleed through again. _Dammit_! "If it had hit something important, I'd be dead," Aaron lamely offered. IRl, bullet wounds to the leg didn't let you get off with just hobbling around. A shot to the leg was as liable to kill you as a shot to the chest or stomach depending on what the bullet or its fragments hit.

Mark set his jaw in frustration. This injury couldn't keep bleeding like this, or he'd be hauling a corpse soon enough. Seriously. He tightened the dressing yet was sure not to cut off the circulation. He'd get it elevated if they had the time, but the thing was they didn't.

Aaron was silent. "Mark, stop," he said.

"I'm not giving up!" Mark argued.

"No, don't stop helping me, just stop moving! I think I hear something," Aaron hissed. Mark paused. It was silent. Then again when Aaron was jittery his hearing suddenly improved ten-fold. At least it seemed that way to Mark. Probably didn't, really, but still.

Aaron looked around. "I think it's near," he whispered. Which was problematic. In fact it might be watching them right now… Why was he referring to it as an 'it'? He knew it was human… Maybe it was a coping mechanism. He was trying to cope with… with the murder… He'd murdered someone… He'd shot a person down in cold blood… Part of him actually though dying might be what he deserved at this point for that, but then again the guy had tried to kill Mark. Him too. He didn't know what else to do, he'd just acted. He hadn't thought, he'd just acted. It was instinct. He hadn't meant to… Maybe it _wasn't_ technically murder in that respect?

"We should get moving," Mark said, helping Aaron up. Quickly the two continued on through the creepy forest. Correction, the forest wasn't creepy, but the _atmosphere_ sure as hell was.

YT

Aaron spotted a truck. "Over there," he whispered to Mark. Mark nodded and went towards it, leaving Aaron out of sight behind the tree. Quietly he went to the note and grabbed it. He quickly returned to his friend.

"You seem to be doing better at finding these things than I am. I have an idea," Mark said.

"I'm listening," Aaron replied.

"Next time Slender—or whoever the heck is playing Slender—shows up, we run. Soon as he's out of sight you get behind a tree. I'll lure the guy after me and make sure he _stays_ behind me. Meanwhile you can sneak around grabbing the notes. You won't have to worry about straining your leg running, I won't have to worry about looking for notes and keeping you near. I'm the better runner anyway," Mark said.

"In video games," Aaron hissed.

"It's all in the reflexes," Mark joked

Aaron smirked dryly but the smile fell. "I don't like the idea of splitting up, mate," he seriously replied. "Last time we ended up separated, s**t got real. If something goes wrong we won't be there to back each other up. What if Slender decides to go after _me_? What if we run into another horror simulated scenario and you end up being chased by something you can't handle on your own?"

Mark was quiet. Aaron made a point. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen," he replied.

"You can try, Mark, but best laid plans and all that," Aaron pointed out. "I say we stick together."

"That might end up screwing us _both_ over in this case," Mark argued. Aaron looked ready to say something. "I swear to god, Yami, if you say 'when the going gets tough just go at it on your own, I'll be fine', I'm going to punch you right in the face."

"Wow that was specific," Aaron joked. Mark glared seriously at him. He sighed. "Mark, I'm only slowing you down," he protested. "If I _do_ go at it on my own, I won't have to worry about getting _you_ killed _too_. I might be able to manage it." He said it, but inwardly that was the last thing he wanted to happen. He really, really, _really_ did not want to die tonight. Especially not in front of the fans and his family and his friends.

"Nope. No way," Mark replied. "Let's just try my plan."

"Fine, but we should at least have a meeting place in case we can't find each other again," Aaron said.

"We don't know what's out here," Mark said, thinking. "Well, I guess we know about this truck."

"Good a place as any," Aaron said. "Might be a better meeting place out there, but can we really _risk_ it is the question." Mark nodded in agreement.

"Fine, truck it is," Mark replied. "Thinking you should probably stay in that truck too while I deal with Mr. Slendypants back there."

"Not a chance," Aaron replied, smirking. After all, who was to say Slenderman wouldn't look in that truck the first chance it got? Odds of finding a way to start said truck were probably non-existent, so it would be counterproductive anyway.

"Let's go," Mark said. Silently the two moved onward.

"I swear, Mark, if you make me regret going along with this…" Aaron muttered.

"You can _trust_ me," Mark said nonchalantly. He was trying to be laid back and himself, but it was obvious he was terrified. They both were.

"I trust you, Mark. Long as it doesn't end up like it does in _Terrorist Town_. With one or the other of us regretting it," Aaron said.

Mark frowned, looking at Aaron with a hard look. "I trust you to not throw yourself under the bus, Aaron," he seriously said.

"I have no intentions of dying tonight," Aaron replied, nodding. "Slender comes, first thing I'm going to do is hide. Wouldn't work in the games, but it sure as hell will work in real life." Mark nodded and looked ahead.

YT

"Oh god, he's there!" Mark exclaimed not two minutes later, pointing ahead. Quickly the duo turned, running in the other direction. Sure enough Slender was a little bit faster this time, and Mark ensured he was pulling Aaron along with him so the other didn't fall behind.

"He's out of sight!" Aaron exclaimed. Mark quickly darted into the bushes with him.

"You stay here, I'll lead him off," he said. He started to get up.

Aaron caught his wrist. "Be careful, Mark," he warned.

"I'm always careful, don't you know that by now?" Mark replied, smirking. Of course they both knew what he was like in Gmod and Prop Hunt, so that really wasn't reassuring, but again, this wasn't a game. This was reality. "Good luck, buddy," Mark added, squeezing his friend's wrist reassuringly. Quickly he ran out of the bushes. "Hey Slenderman, over here! Yeah, I'm talking to you! Come at me you slow bastard!" He cried out in alarm then started to run. Seconds later the person disguised as Slender raced by as well, chasing Mark. Aaron peered out of the bushes and waited until they were out of sight. Quickly he got out of hiding and continued looking around for the notes.

YT

Aaron could hear Mark running from Slender. Mark was staying close but not so close as to put him in danger, which he was glad for. He quickly raced into a building—the bane of his existence—and was quick to grab the note there. He got out as fast as possible. Let's see, that made three. Damn, he had to move faster. Mark couldn't keep running forever! He hurried around the area. He had seen a tunnel up ahead. He ran to it quickly and searched for the note there. Snatching it he darted out, looking around again. Four down, four to go. He saw a water tower in the distance, poking just up above some trees. There was his next destination. Swiftly he ran there as fast as his injured leg would allow him to move. He didn't want to agitate it any more than it had already been agitated. Currently he was praying it wouldn't end up infected. Oh the thought made him shudder. He most certainly didn't want to lose his leg.

Finally he reached the water tower and sank down against it. He needed to rest. It was on something of a hill. He could see a fair ways from here, actually. Of course if anything came out of the forest he would be spotted. He tried to get a sense of where they were. Too many trees for it to be Texas. He bit his lower lip and staggered up. He couldn't rest anymore. He turned to the water tower and began searching it. He spotted the note and went to it. He grabbed it and read. His eyes widened. It was in another language! He frowned curiously. That was new. What was it? It looked like… Swedish, maybe? Hmm… He looked up at the water tower. He was getting an unsettling feeling about this whole thing. Something told him there was more at play here than just him and Mark running through game replicas… The question was what…? Aaron looked around. There was a landmark down below, he saw. That would be his next objective. Hurriedly he started off. Three more to go. Just three more to go.

YT

Mark was exhausted and bent over, panting. "Okay, score one for Video Game logic. You don't always run out of breath when playing games," he said out loud to himself, wiping his brow. Or if you did it wasn't for a good long time. Of course there were exceptions, sometimes the stamina in games was pathetic, but still! He stood up, looking around. Slenderman was moving quicker than ever before. Aaron was making headway. Unfortunately that meant more work for _him_. He was starting to worry Slenderman would head after Aaron soon. He had to keep it in sight and at the same time had to stay in front of him. This was _not_ going to be fun.

Slender was running at him now, knives drawn; because, you know, IRL you didn't have magical 'killing people and taking out their spleens' powers. You actually had to use something to kill with. In this case it was knives. He started to run again, but he had no idea how much longer he could keep this thing up. God, they were more likely to drop dead of exhaustion than get killed by people playing faux-lore creatures of the night. Slendy's speed was steadily increasing. It was taking his everything to stay ahead. He shouldn't have given it his all from the get go, dammit! He definitely couldn't keep this pace up.

"I got it!" he heard Aaron exclaim from somewhere up ahead. "Mark, Mark, where are you? I've got all the pages!"

"Yami, over here!" Mark called. He felt adrenaline go through him and sped up. The sooner they reunited the better. "Aaron, where are you!"

"Mark!" Aaron exclaimed, suddenly coming out of the trees to the side.

"Keep running, Slender's right behind us!" Mark exclaimed. Aaron grabbed out the pages and took a tinderbox from his bag. "What are you _doing_?" Mark asked.

Aaron smirked and turned. "Hey Slendy, we've got your pages! In your face! We win!" Aaron called, lighting the pages on fire in front of the Slenderman who had suddenly stopped moving and was watching in disbelief.

"Why are you _burning_ them? _That's_ not going to stop him!" Mark exclaimed.

"If these guys watched the same parkour video I did, yes it will," Aaron replied.

"Parkour? What?" Mark asked.

"YouTube vid. Slender Run – Parkour Escape from Slenderman. Really cool video, you guys should check it out, I'd say link in the description except as you can probably tell, that isn't going to happen. It was actually was quite an interesting theory at the end," Aaron replied, shrugging. "Guy burned the pages and Slender burned to ashes."

"That's… actually a pretty good concept," Mark said. Slenderman looked unsure of what he was supposed to do in this situation. Apparently his buddies hadn't prepared him for this. Good. That bought them time. "Let's move in case he changes his mind," Mark said quickly. Swiftly he and Aaron darted off.


	5. The Swedish Note

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Sorry for the delay. Things got really busy. Bromantic teasing is about as far as I go in this story, and there's a fair bit of it in this chapter.)

The Swedish Note

The two exhausted young men finally stumbled out of the forest. "This is insanity," Mark wearily said.

"Mark, we can't keep this up," Aaron said. "Especially not me with this damn bullet wound."

"We have to, Aaron. We give up, we die. We just… we have to keep fighting," Mark replied.

"I'm so tired," Aaron exhaustedly murmured.

"So am I," Mark replied. "Believe me so am I…" They looked ahead. There was a house. Well, it _looked_ safer than the cabin had been. But then again it was much larger. Larger meant more places for things to hide. "Come on," Mark said, ushering Aaron towards it. "Maybe there we can get a break." Even if it _was_ only a short one.

"I don't know, man. Looks reminiscent of the game _The Groundskeeper_," Aaron dryly answered dryly.

Mark groaned. "You know what, no. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm sick of running. We're letting this one slide. Let's go." It was risky to give it the benefit of the doubt, but you know what? He didn't even care anymore. At least at the moment. Not like they could get any unluckier. Ooh, he shouldn't have even entertained that thought. Great. Now they were probably jinxed.

YT

Mark and Aaron sat quietly in the house. Well, Mark sat on an easy chair while Aaron laid on the couch. There was complete silence as they finally let themselves start to digest all that was happening. "What sort of sick, twisted, game _is_ this, Mark?" Aaron finally asked.

"I have _no_ clue. I mean what's even the motive? Just a crazed fan? It doesn't make sense," Mark said.

"No, crazy usually doesn't. Nor does murder in my opinion," Aaron replied. And it looked more and more like murder was going to be the outcome sooner than later. Mark 'hmmed' as he tossed Tiny Box Tim up and down. They were quiet again. "I don't think I'm going to make it, Mark…" Aaron finally muttered.

"Don't even go there, Aaron, don't," Mark sharply warned, frowning seriously.

"I have to," Aaron replied. "It's… Well look, I'm not in good shape, man."

"No duh," Mark replied, eyeing the bandaged leg. He stopped tossing Tiny Box Tim up and down and looked at his friend. "Look, we're getting out. _Both_ of us." Aaron meekly nodded. He doubted it, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Just… if something goes wrong focus on you, okay?" Aaron said.

"Yami…" Mark began.

"Please, Mark," Aaron agitatedly asked. "I can handle myself."

Mark was quiet. "Okay…" he finally replied. He had no intentions of doing any such thing as keeping that promise, but Aaron was getting restless and upset. He had to say _something_. He knew Aaron could handle himself, he did… He just didn't want the younger man to _have_ to. Not after everything he had already had to deal with. Killing someone being the case in point. Ugh, Mark would never forgive himself for ending up in a situation that had driven Aaron to feel he had to do something like that. Mark was silent, thinking. He promised to himself then and there that even if it meant he didn't live, or even escape, he would get Aaron out. No matter the cost to himself, he was getting Aaron out whether the other liked it or not.

"Mark, do you think I should die for killing him…?" Aaron asked.

"That's the blood loss talking, Yami," Mark replied. "But if you want an answer, no. Not even for a second." Aaron nodded sluggishly.

"I found a note in Swedish," Aaron murmured.

"Swedish? That's weird," Mark replied. Aaron reached into a pocket and brought it out, handing it over.

"I thought it was weird at the time. Sort of out of place," Aaron replied.

Mark looked incredulously at the note. "Wonder if this is supposed to be a clue," he said.

"We could search around for a Swedish to English dictionary," Aaron remarked. "If this is a clue, he would have given us the means to solve it."

YT

Mark hummed then rose, scouting around. He glanced back at Aaron. His friend was falling asleep. Mark was slightly worried. He didn't know if letting Aaron sleep when he was in this condition would be a good idea or not. Aaron seemed to feel it as well, as he forced himself to open his eyes again. Ugh, but he wanted to rest so badly… But what if when he fell asleep he never got up again? The injury was bad, he knew, any injury to the leg _was_. There were a lot of major blood vessels there. IRL getting shot in the leg didn't result in a limp and little else. IRL getting shot in the leg meant you were in deep s**t. Proving that well enough was the fact he'd lost so much blood, and honestly? To say he was dizzy would be an understatement. But it shouldn't be bad to fall asleep, right? Then again he was still sort of in danger, so that might not be a good idea to sleep anyway… He was so tired… Well, if he didn't wake up again Mark would only have _himself_ to worry about, he guessed.

Mark cringed, hating to see his friend like this. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you up as soon as something starts going wrong," he said. He hoped he didn't end up regretting that. At least he'd have the time to find the solution to this clue. Given it _was_ a clue, that is.

Aaron nodded. They both knew something was going to go wrong. It was just the way this thing was happening. He hoped, though, that's he'd at least be able to nap a bit before it did. Mark had said he'd wake him up, after all… _Unless he can't,_ a darker voice whispered in Aaron's mind. Aaron grimaced at the possibility, but right now he was so exhausted… He was beyond caring anymore. He just wanted peace. Even if only for a little bit. But Mark needed peace too. He didn't want Mark to be suffering this thing alone and not getting a respite. Before he could say anything, though, or beg Mark to sleep, he had drifted off.

Mark watched a moment then took off his coat and put it over his shivering friend. Part of him felt like letting Aaron sleep had been a big mistake. Another part felt that it would be okay. Aaron was damn determined when he wanted to be, and one hell of a fighter when push came to shove. Well, at least he _could_ be, depending on circumstances. Mark shrugged it off and rose, pacing around the small house and ensuring they weren't snuck up on. Ugh, this was starting to feel like they were in a war movie. Anyway, it was time to try and do some good. Maybe find some clues as to what the heck was going on here and why they'd been 'chosen'.

YT

Aaron's eyes flickered open. Ugh, he felt awful. At least he'd _woken_ up, he inwardly added. He slowly sat up. He blinked, noticing Mark's coat. He started, immediately alarmed. The coat was here but where the hell was _Mark_?! He sat up. "Mark? Mark?!" he called, standing up and looking worriedly around. He moved around to the windows, peering out into the dark for his friend. _Surely_ Mark hadn't gone out there alone! _Dammit_! He quickly started for the doorway. It suddenly flung open. He screamed in terror, leaping back and grabbing for something to use as a weapon, hand closing on a fire poker.

"Whoa, whoa, easy Aaron, easy!" Mark's voice exclaimed as he quickly put his hands up.

Aaron gasped, relaxing. "Jesus Christ, Mark, you scared the living _hell_ out of me!" he said, shakily lowering the poker.

"No, you _think_?" Mark asked, still slightly shaken. He took hold of the poker in Aaron's hand. He didn't like how firmly the other was holding onto it. It was like the thing was a lifeline… Sad part was it could very well be just that. "Let go, Yami," he calmly said.

Aaron finally managed to let it go. Mark took it and set it to the side. It would come in useful as a weapon, he concluded. He'd bring it along just in case maybe. Considering he had time to grab it before something went horribly wrong, that was. "How long was I _out_?" Aaron asked.

"About an hour," Mark replied, shrugging.

"What were you doing out there, man?" Aaron asked.

"Thought I heard something," Mark replied.

"So you decided it would be a good idea to investigate? Horror movie 'nope' times about a billion," Aaron deadpanned.

"Point taken," Mark replied. "But I kind of had _you_ to protect."

"Why am _I_ always the helpless one?" Aaron lamented.

"Because you make such a great damsel in distress, Yami," Mark teased.

"I think _you_ should be the damsel in distress for once," Aaron replied.

"Not as fangirl squeal worthy to see _me_ the damsel in distress," Mark said.

Aaron inwardly laughed. "It _could_ be!" he joked playfully.

"No, no, no, hear me out. See, I'm the big, strong, brave, older guy. You're the timid little kid who's got that 'protect me' sort of feel to you. Older defends younger and meeker and all that there stuff," Mark joked.

"I am not meek!" Aaron argued.

"At the moment you kind of are. Look at the bright side, our fans are eating it up," Mark joked. "Isn't that right, fans?"

"Ah ha, so _you're_ behind this whole thing!" Aaron exclaimed playfully. "I _knew_ it! It's a conspiracy all for the fans!"

"What? Who? Me? Behind it all? No I'm not," Mark replied in that exaggerated innocent/guilty tone he put on in G-mod every so often. Aaron chuckled.

YT

The two were quiet again. "Where do we go from here? I mean we need to figure out where we are and who our kidnapper is, but to do that we kind of need to survive," Aaron said.

"I have no clue," Mark helplessly answered, shrugging. "I found the answer to the Swedish Note clue, but that's about it."

"You did?" Aaron asked.

"Whoever I heard outside left _this_," Mark confirmed, bringing out a Swedish to English phrase book/dictionary. "If nothing else we can try to translate this note. I'm thinking he mayhaps wants us to find stuff out."

"I'm almost afraid of what we'll read," Aaron replied.

"So am I," Mark dryly agreed.

"Damn, if we had a cell phone or something we could call Felix and get a translation," Aaron said.

"If we had a cell phone or something we'd be out of here," Mark replied.

He opened up the dictionary and Aaron laid out the note. Quietly the two began working on translating it.

About two or so minutes the duo was gawking at the roughly translated note in horror. It was simple, it was basic, it was three words. But there was really not much they could say. "M-M-Mark…" Aaron finally stammered out.

"I know," Mark hollowly said. The note… It read cryptically:

_Find the baby..._


	6. Replicas: Forgotten

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Not a great replica chapter—and didn't have time to edit it as much as I usually edit chapters so it's probably not polished either—but the story is getting somewhere now at least. Next chapter focus switches from Mark and Aaron to, well, you'll see. Our Crazed Butt Stabber has been a very busy bee.)

Replicas: Forgotten

Slowly the two looked up at each other, eyes wide and uncertain. "This can't possibly mean…" Aaron began.

"I think it does," Mark fearfully replied.

"That sick _bastard_!" Aaron exclaimed in horror. "Mark, what are we supposed to do?!"

"Right now I'm kind of waiting to see what fresh horror he has in store for us next," Mark answered. "It might lead us to where he wants us to go to 'find the baby'. In the meantime I think we should try to figure out why he chose _us_ to target. I mean this _has_ to go beyond obsessed fan. It wouldn't make _sense_ for a fan of ours to put us through this."

Aaron looked thoughtful. "He may have claimed he was a fan of ours, but maybe… Maybe that wasn't the truth… Maybe it isn't _us_ who he's a fan of," Aaron suggested, shrugging. "No wait, then that _really_ gives him no motive for this." Or did it? Ugh, he couldn't think right now. It was like he had a possible reason on the tip of his tongue but couldn't quite figure out how to say it. Or _what_ he was going to say for that matter.

"Other than he's just a crazy butt stabber who was looking to stab us in the butts for a good time," Mark replied, shrugging. "We'll probably find more clues to his game, and maybe to what he's doing, the closer we get to him. He has to have a base of operations _somewhere_ here. As soon as we find it, we'll be set to look for more motive and clues. In the meantime this is pretty much just a survival run. And apparently a rescue attempt now too."

"What game is he replicating?" Aaron asked. "I don't think one _I've_ played."

"I'm not sure," Mark replied. "I mean there are a few possibilities, but kind of hard to pick it out. I'd say maybe _Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs_, except the note says baby not children, baby is singular not plural, and this place doesn't look like Amnesia."

"We need to start looking. If there's really an actual honest to god baby here, the more time we spend speculating the less time it has," Aaron worriedly said.

YT

Just then the lights went out and both of them screamed, clinging to each other. The lights flickered slightly then went on… Except they were dimmer. The two drew apart, looking on edge. "Oh this can't be good," Mark said.

"M-Mark, can we please go now?" Aaron questioned.

"I think that might be smart," Mark agreed. Quickly they took some supplies Mark had collected up, put them in their bags, then quietly made their way to what was hopefully a way to the back door.

They looked around the area they were in. It was nice enough. Not scary so far, thank goodness. "This seems pretty homey," Aaron hopefully remarked.

"Let's not get our hops too high," Mark replied, looking around dubiously. This was familiar somehow…

"A note," Aaron remarked, picking it up.

Mark read it through and started, eyes widening. "Oh no," he said.

"What?" Aaron asked.

"I know this game. I know this game!" Mark exclaimed.

"What is it?" Aaron questioned.

"He's doing _Forgotten_," Mark numbly replied.

"What's that?" Aaron asked.

"A game in the developing stages I played about a year or two ago that involved a ghost baby or something. Comments speculated about the story behind the game, schizophrenic mother who cracked after a still-birth and no ghost was really there, but it was only in the developing stages so I didn't get all that far," Mark replied.

"He may be doing 'Forgotten', but dead babies don't cry," Aaron grimly said.

"In _that_ game they did. It was a memory or ghost or whatever," Mark replied. "Oh something tells me we shouldn't have joked about kids so often in our Gmod vids."

"Wait, if the baby was a memory or ghost, and dead babies IRL don't cry…" Aaron began. Mark and him started, exchanging horrified looks.

"He's going to _kill_ it!" Mark exclaimed in horror. "If he's going for authenticity he's going to kill it!"

YT

Right on cue they began to hear the screaming of a baby. They stiffened and exchanged horrified looks. Oh this wasn't happening. "Hell no!" Aaron exclaimed. "_That_ does _not_ sound like a recording!"

"Let's go!" Mark said. Immediately they raced out of the kitchen and into a hallway. Mark, knowing the layout, took the lead. They ran like death itself was at their heels. They came to a door. The crying was becoming quieter! Mark swallowed, took a breath, then threw it open. The two stiffened, chills going through them. There was a crib in the middle of the room, and something was moving inside!

The two were across the room in an instant. "Oh god!" Aaron exclaimed. It was a baby alright, and there was plastic wrapped around the infant's face! It was trying to get it off. "Mark, we need a knife or something sharp right now!"

"Stand back, I have a pen!" Mark declared. "I _knew_ it would come in handy. Okay, no, I didn't, but still!"

"A _pen_?!" Aaron screamed, grabbing up the child. "God f***ing dammit man, what's _that_ going to do?! Oh god, oh god there's an actual f***ing _baby_ here! What the actual f**k?!"

"Hey, no language in front of the baby!" Mark shot, frantically working on prying the plastic off with the pen or cutting through it. "Pen might not be a knife, but it's better than nothing," he added, trying to stay calm. Oh god the baby was getting quieter! It couldn't breathe! "Dammit!" he exclaimed, Aaron began prying at the plastic as well. It seemed like forever, but soon enough they got it off.

"Mark, he's not breathing!" Aaron freaked.

"Oh god! What do we do, what do we do? What am I _saying_? Do you know CPR?" Mark demanded.

"I-I can recall a bit," Aaron replied.

"Good, so can I. Maybe we can stumble our way through this," Mark hopefully said. There was _no_ way they were letting a baby die in front of them!

YT

They had been working at the resuscitation for about ten seconds before the baby began to cry again. "Oh thank god!" Aaron gasped out, falling to the ground and trying to calm down, holding the baby tightly against his chest.

Mark looked down in disbelief at the child. "This-guy-is _so_ dead," he darkly stated.

"Darkiplier, hi buddy," Aaron lamely teased.

Mark offered a weak smirk and took the baby from his friend, cuddling it and bumping it up and down until Aaron composed himself. Not that he was much better. Oh man, what were they supposed to do with a kid around? As if they didn't have enough to worry about, now he had the baby and Aaron _both_ to watch out for. "This is so bad," Mark muttered.

Aaron took a breath and stood up. "The poor thing is starving!" he said.

"If this is following Forgotten, there should be a baby formula somewhere, and a teddy bear too," Mark replied.

A voice came over the speakers, then, saying, "You acted much too soon, boys. You weren't supposed to find it in time. Now you've thrown my plot out of line. I'm not impressed. But then again, this could get very interesting. I'd suggest you check this house most thoroughly. You've missed something." With that the voice stopped.

YT

Aaron and Mark were quiet a long moment. "Okay, no more playing around. Seriously dude, if something goes wrong I don't want you to even _register_ my existance, got it? Take the baby and run for the hills," Aaron shot.

"We are not getting into this here!" Mark shot back. "Look, we'll feel it out, let's just keep moving.

"F**k you, Mark!" Aaron yelled.

"You know what? Back off!" Mark snapped sharply back. "I am not leaving you or _anyone_ else behind!"

"Like hell you won't! And if you keep refusing to do it, I won't give you another option!" Aaron yelled. Mark didn't grace it with a reply. He turned, walking away. Aaron sighed deeply, feeling a twinge of guilt, then followed quietly. He looked down at the baby as he came up alongside Mark. "It's okay, little guy, we'll get you out of here," he said to the child. He really hoped this kid didn't belong to one of the psychos.

YT

"This should be the room where the formula is," Mark said, pushing a door open. Cautiously they entered.

"I see it," Aaron said. He moved ahead and picked up the bottle. Still warm. He turned, heading back to Mark and the baby. "What if it's poisoned?" he asked.

"Let's not think about that," Mark groaned. Aaron held out his wrist, pouring some of the formula onto it. He tasted it, just in case, and waited a moment. There didn't seem to be an ill effect on him. "You're out of your mind," Mark deadpanned.

"I'm beyond the point of caring. Right now I'm kind of more concerned about getting the baby and you out of here alive than I am about getting me out," Aaron replied, handing the bottle over.

Mark took the bottle and put it in the baby's mouth. "We aren't playing the 'leave the wounded, sick, and lame' game, Yami," Mark stated warningly.

"Mark… At this point there might not be a choice anymore…" Aaron quietly said, looking down.

Mark sharply looked at him. Wait a minute… Suddenly he realized. Dammit! Aaron had already determined that he was a lost cause and had all but given himself up for dead… Aaron was in the process of accepting that he was going to die. Aaron couldn't even picture, anymore, a way that he could still get out of this alive, and that realization terrified Mark to no end.

"Take this," he said, handing the baby over. As long as Aaron held it… Well, he wasn't sure what handing the baby to his friend would accomplish, honestly, but he hoped it would give Aaron a little hope and a reason to fight. He just couldn't get over the feeling that if he _didn't_ hand the baby over, the next time they ran Aaron wouldn't be behind him anymore… He'd turn back and see that Yami was gone. Best take that option away from his friend right now. There was no way he was letting his friend determine he was ready to die here like this.

Aaron took the baby gently and rocked it while it drank from the bottle, gently cooing to it. "Yami-baby returns," Mark dryly joked.

Aaron chuckled, getting the reference to one of their Gmod collabs. "You said there was a teddy bear," he remarked to Mark.

"We'll get there," Mark replied. "Here. Tiny Box Tim, keep Yami-baby happy," he said, putting the small box on the baby. The baby picked it up and shook it curiously in the air, watching it. "My little biscuit brings joy _wherever_ he goes," Mark joked. Aaron laughed and followed Mark as he led the way to the room that supposedly had the teddy bear in it.

YT

Soon enough the baby was clinging to a small bear along with Tiny Box Time. The baby was smiling and laughing at funny faces Aaron was making at him. Mark was looking over a note gravely. "I found another clue," he said. "It's in Swedish again."

"Why Swedish if he knew it was _us_ he would be kidnapping?" Aaron asked. "_Surely_ he knows we don't speak it."

"You said yourself crazy doesn't make sense," Mark replied, shrugging.

"No, there's something else going on here. There _has_ to be," Aaron replied. "Hmm… who do we know who's a Swedish Let's Player?"

"Felix. Problem with that, Aaron, is that this guy said he made this course for _us_," Mark said. "And Felix sure as hell isn't the crazy butt stabber we're dealing with. Crazed Butt Stabber has the Swedish accent, yeah, but it isn't Felix's voice."

"Never implied Felix _was_ the enemy here. That would be like something out of a hater fanfiction," Aaron replied. "Felix is a good guy."

Mark nodded in agreement. "This whole _event_ is practically fanfiction," he remarked.

"Considering the crazies in the world more believable, though," Aaron pessimistically said.

"Cynical much?" Mark teased. Aaron chuckled dryly. Mark thought a moment. "What if…"

"What if…?" Aaron pressed.

"What if he _wants_ Felix to get involved in this?" Mark asked.

"But why?" Aaron asked.

"I have no clue," Mark replied. "Mystery for later, I guess. Right now we should translate this note."

YT

Just then a cellphone rang from somewhere in the room. They stiffened and exchanged looks. What was _this_ now? Quickly the two separated and began to search the room for the phone. Mark pulled open a dresser drawer and started. There it was. He reached in, pulling out said cellphone. "Aaron!" he called. Aaron looked over and quickly went to him, still holding the baby. Unknown number. The two exchanged nervous looks. Mark answered. "H-hello?" he asked tightly.

"Mark, Aaron!?" a familiar voice exclaimed in excitement and relief. Mark and Aaron's eyes widened.

"No way," Aaron said in disbelief.

"_Felix_?!" Mark exclaimed in shock.


	7. Enter Felix and Cry

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: I'll say right off the bat that I am probably going to be horrible at characterizing PewDiePie. He's proving a surprisingly difficult personality to capture. I haven't watched him or Cryaotic half as often as I've watched Markiplier and Yamimash, so their personalities will probably be off. I've only watched four or five of Cryaotic's playthroughs, and two or three of his collabs with PewDiePie, and that's the extent of my knowledge on him [His voice reminds me a lot of Izumo Kusanagi from K Project…] As for PewDiePie, I've watched a fair few of his videos, at least parts of them, but again, I'm having a really hard time characterizing him and haven't watched him much, so bear with me. If anyone knows or has tips on how to improve their characterizations, let me know.)

Enter Felix and Cry

He whose name shall not be spoken, aka Cryaotic, waited at the airport, leaning against a wall and watching the people arriving. He spotted a familiar figure and lit up. He smiled and headed towards said figure. "Hey Felix!" he called out.

Felix, aka PewDiePie, looked over. "Cry!" he called out, heading towards his friend. "You came this time around."

"Yeah, figure if I wear the mask I won't have to worry too much," Cry replied, pulling out the fanmade mask and putting it on. "Far as anyone knows I could just be a fan."

"You look like an idiot, Cry," Felix teased.

"F**k you, Felix. You're just jealous because I've got the mysterious thing going on for me," Cry replied, smirking. "Surprised you came all the way from Sweden," Cry said.

"The bros wanted it, min van (my friend). Anything for the bros," Felix replied, smirking.

"Oh always," Cry replied. "My fans were begging me to go too. Figured I'd avoided it for too long. Might as well have some fun. Again, far as anyone knows I'm just a Cryaotic fan."

"Thanks for picking me up from the airport, bro," Felix said.

"Did Marzia come?" Cry asked.

"Ja. On an earlier flight. I had some stuff to deal with," Felix replied.

"Let's get going," Cry said. Felix nodded.

YT

Everything was going great at PAX! It was quite an experience, actually… And then _it_ happened. "There are so many fans here! I can't believe it," Felix said. "It feels so great to be here with other YouTubers and the bros."

"I know. It's better than I thought it would be," Cry agreed. "Look, they're about to show a demonstration over there."

"Let's go check it out," Felix said.

"For sure," Cry replied.

They started towards the screen. Before they were halfway across, things got bad. The screens began to act weird. Something was going wrong. "What the hell?" Felix asked, stopping.

"Probably just some technical difficulty," Cry said. He was proven wrong the next second when suddenly live stream images of Markiplier and Yamimash flashed onto the screens. Felix and Cry froze in shock, eyes widening. Immediately murmurs went through the crowds. Mark was screaming for help, trying to get out of a room. Aaron was limping through an area reminiscent of Amnesia, limping on an obviously injured leg.

"What the f**k?!" Felix exclaimed. Cry was gawking in shock. Whispers that it was just a publicity stunt began going through the room. There was laughter. Nervous laughter. They were trying to assure themselves it was all a setup… Except the organizers of PAX looked flustered and confused. Police around the area were suddenly paying more attention and calling things in. It soon became apparent no one knew what was happening, and the fear in Mark and Aaron's voices… Then the first monster attacked Aaron. There were very real screams of terror and confusion and pain. There was a very real struggle. There was very real damage done before Aaron slipped away. There was very real silence at PAX as it dawned on everyone there that this… this was _not_ a gimmick.

YT

Screams went through the room as something caught up to Mark and tried to break his neck. They were echoed by more screams and sobs as they witnessed the person about to murder Mark fall to the ground dead, and saw a stunned and bleeding Aaron gawking down at the figure in horror.

"Oh god, oh god, oh my f***ing god!" Cry numbly exclaimed. The police were showing people out of the area as quickly as possible. It was known, now, that this thing was being live-streamed everywhere. Felix looked away from the screen quickly, pale. Cry was too stunned to do much. The next thing they knew they were being shown out. Not long after they were racing into Cry's hotel room.

"What the f**k was _that_?!" Felix asked in horror.

"I-I-I…" Cry stammered. But there was really nothing he could say to the incident. He took off his mask and wiped his face with a hand. "This is happening," he realized. "This is actually happening."

"How can you be so _calm_?!" Felix demanded. Of course he also knew that Cry, on occasion, was able to keep a fairly level head in the face of things that would have most panicking. Or he was beyond the point of panic. One of the two.

"I'm not! I just… it's all so… what… I… This is so wrong," Cry numbly said.

Felix looked deeply disturbed. "You ever had an obsessed fan, Cry?" he asked in a very grave tone that actually took Cry aback.

Cry looked curiously over at him. "Why?" he asked. Had Felix?

"Just a thought," Felix replied. Apparently he had, Cry reasoned. He wouldn't pry.

"You think an obsessed fan of theirs is behind it?" Cry asked.

"Not impossible, right?" Felix replied.

"See, this right here is why I try to keep my personal information private," Cry groaned.

"Don't rub it in, you bitch," Felix said with a worried smirk. At least it was an attempt to lighten the dark mood.

"Say it," Cry stated, smirking.

"You're internet smart, okay? You're internet smart! Apparently more than most," Felix said.

"_Thank_ you! Someone sees it!" Cry said.

"Fangirls hate you for it," Felix teased dryly. He looked over at the computer in the room. "I wish there was something we could do…" he murmured.

"I wonder where they are," Cry remarked. "Not in Texas. They _couldn't_ be… Unless it was in the more Eastern part of it."

"What's there?" Felix asked.

"A fair bit of forest," Cry answered.

Felix was quiet. "Then maybe they _aren't_ as far away as it looks," he soon said.

"What if the police and whoever else is looking can't find them? What if they don't make it…?" Cry quietly asked. Felix could say nothing to this

YT

Felix was in his hotel room on the computer, trying to distract himself from what was happening to Mark and Aaron. Every so often he would go over to the live stream to see what was going on… and if they were still alive… To make it simple he felt helpless. Never honestly thought something like this would happen to people he _knew_. Was 'knew' the right term in English? Knew implied intimacy as in knew them in personal life and were friends beyond the online world with them. Or maybe it didn't. He wouldn't claim to understand all the complexities in the English language. It was a second language, after all, and half the time most native _English_ speakers didn't get them either.

He was going through his social media sites quietly. Marzia came up behind him and hugged him, dropping a kiss on his forehead. He smirked. "You should come to bed," she said to him.

"In a minute," he replied, flicking yet again to the live-stream.

She looked curiously at it and cringed, looking away. "You can't do anything for them, but they'll be okay," she optimistically said.

Because it looked so much like they were doing okay, Felix dryly said to himself. He minimized the live-stream and sat back with a sigh, shaking his head. "I hate this," he said. "That's it, I hate this. This shouldn't be happening."

"Think positive," she teased.

"I am. I'm positive they're screwed," Felix answered.

"Felix…" she began, frowning.

"I'll be there in a minute," he repeated. She sighed. He was distressed by this, she knew. Very much so. _Everyone_ was. Things like this didn't happen. They just didn't… Well, they shouldn't at least, but she guessed they did on occasion. This… When it hit so close to home it was something so completely different. She wished he wouldn't stress himself about it, though.

"Fine," she relented. He needed a moment alone. She headed back to bed.

YT

Felix opened up his facebook and started. A PM? Nothing was weird about PMs showing up in his inbox, of course, but this one… It was in his native tongue, and roughly translated it started with the cryptic words:

_I know how you can reach Mark and Aaron._

Felix stared at the words a long moment, blinking. This… was not good. He should show it to the police. First thing in the morning he intended to… But could he _wait_ that long…? He pursed his lips then wrote back:

_Who is this?_

He waited a minute. Then the reply:

_A concerned fan._

Felix hesitated to reply. Finally, though, he wrote:

_How can I reach them?_

The answer:

_I have a number you need to call. They will pick up. Good luck._

A number was soon sent. Felix's eyes widened. This was actually happening. What the hell was he getting involved in? He looked at the phone next to him. He hesitated to call it. The police should know. He didn't want to get sucked into this fiasco… Why the f**k would anyone be contacting _him_ about them _anyway_? He only knew Mark via the occasional and rare collab, and he didn't recall _ever_ doing a collab with Aaron. Oh he got a bad feeling about this. He shouldn't get involved, he shouldn't get involved, he shouldn't get involved…

Screw it, he was getting involved. He snatched the phone and quickly dialled the supplied number. F***ing curiosity. He held it to his ear and held his breath, waiting for someone to pick up.

"H-Hello?" a voice asked.

Felix's eyes shot open. That was Mark! "Mark, Aaron!" he exclaimed.

"_Felix_?!" Mark exclaimed.

"No way," Aaron said in disbelief.

YT

"Bros, what the f**k is going on?!" Felix immediately demanded in an urgent whisper, quickly rising and leaving the hotel room. He went down the hall. Cry was on this floor somewhere. He was probably awake anyway. He could freak out in his friend's room because he wouldn't be waking anyone there.

"Have you not been watching the live stream, man?" Aaron hissed in reply.

"On and off," Felix answered, knocking on Cry's door.

Cry opened up and started. "Felix, what…" he began. Felix pushed passed, shutting the door behind him and putting the phone on speaker.

"We found a baby," Mark deadpanned.

"A _what_?!" Felix exclaimed.

Cry's mouth was dropped. He shook out of the shock. "Is that…" he began.

"Mark and Aaron," Felix replied.

"How did you get a _hold_ of them?!" Cry demanded.

"Is that Cry?" Mark asked in surprise.

"Ja," Felix replied, turning on Cry's computer and signing into his Facebook. He showed Cry the short private message thread. Cry read it over in disbelief.

"Now what is this s**t about a _baby_?" Felix asked.

"You guys are okay!" Cry exclaimed, only now starting to catch up to the fact this was actually happening and not just some weird ass dream.

"Goddammit, focus, Cry! Don't worry about it!" Felix shot with a smirk.

"It's a long story. Also not important right now. We're kind of sort of trying to survive," Aaron stated. He pulled out the note, looked it through, and said. "Felix, we need you to translate this note for us. It may be another clue for us as to how to get _out_ of this nightmare. The first clue was a Swedish note that said 'Find the baby'. What's this one say? Slowly—and probably more than a little poorly—he began to read through it as best as he could given the words he didn't recognize or know how to say well.

"Notes in Swedish?" Cry asked, immediately on the alert. That didn't sound good.

Felix blinked blankly. Apparently _he_ was taken aback _too_. He went over the note in his head, mentally correcting the errors made to words that would most likely have been what Aaron was trying to say, and translated in his head. His eyes slowly began to widen in horror. "Oh this is not good, bros," Felix numbly replied.

"Why? What's it say?" Mark asked.

Felix swallowed and looked worriedly over at Cry. Cry blinked. That look meant something was very, very wrong. Felix turned back to the phone conversation and answered, "It says, 'There are others. Find the prisoners before time is up.'"

"Damn," Cry whispered.

YT

"There… there are _more_…?" Aaron hoarsely asked.

"It doesn't say how many more, but it sure _seems_ like there are," Felix answered.

"Not necessarily a surprise, given _Amnesia: Justine_ has prisoners that are still alive in them that can be saved. To say nothing of the fact the 'monsters' in it are human," Cry remarked calmly.

"Thanks for _reminding_ us, Cry," Mark groaned. This just got better and better. "Something isn't right about this whole thing. This can't be just some obsessed fan. Or if it is this can't be just about Yami and I. Ugh, what the f**k is going _on_ here?!"

"Not in front of the baby, Mark!" Aaron protested.

"Yami, you're making the baby cry! Stop making the baby cry!" Mark shot.

"I ship Markimash," Cry joked at the remark, trying to lighten the mood.

"Like hell you do. You know you ship PewDieCry," Felix teased his friend.

"Now isn't the time for _fanservice_!" Aaron shot at them.

"There's _always_ time for fanservice," Mark joked.

"Oh god we _do_ sound like a married couple," Aaron groaned. "Oh god, what am I _saying_?" This was serious s**t!

"Ho yay just comes naturally to you two, doesn't it," Cry teased.

"Bite your tongue," Aaron replied, smirking. Fine. He could use a little light-heartedness. It was something of a relief to be joking with them like this, actually.

"Or bite something else. Oh!" Felix said.

"Oh! Oh! Not cool bro; oh not cool!" Mark teased, laughing.

"Okay, okay, we're done. Let's get serious again," Cry said.

YT

There was silence for a moment. "They're searching for you bros everywhere," Felix finally said.

"We're not even _in_ damn Texas anymore," Aaron replied.

"You might be in the East of it," Cry pointed out.

"Why?" Aaron asked.

"Because the East of Texas has forests. Ugh, how did _I_ not think of that?!" Mark exclaimed in realization.

"Too busy panicking and trying to stay alive, probably," Cry replied.

"You bros just stay cool as long as you can. As soon as I can I'll get the police, show them the message thread, and get them to call this number," Felix said.

"You can't, Felix. This cell is one of those one use things, and we're running out of the time that it has left on the battery as it is," Mark replied.

"This guy thought of everything," Cry grimly said.

"At least the police will have _something_," Felix answered. "They might know how to trick the guy into revealing something through the messages.

Just then there was a loud noise on Mark and Aaron's end. "Oh s**t, something's coming," Aaron hissed.

"We have to go," Mark said to Cry and Felix. "Thanks for the translation and… and we're sorry you're all going through this…"

"It'll be over soon," Cry assured. "You're getting out of this."

"We hope," Aaron said. "But if we don't…"

"I'll take good care of your fans, Markiplier," Felix said in a faux dark tone.

Mark laughed, grinning. "That's the spirit," he teased.

"Ooh, nice way to play off the rivalry fans are trying to create between you two," Aaron said.

"Rivalry make everything more interesting, _everyone_ knows that," Felix joked, smirking.

"Why can't _I_ be Mark's rival?" Aaron asked, grinning slightly.

"Because you and I are bum buddies, Yami," Mark replied playfully, grinning. "Bum buddies can't be rivals."

"Mark, I thought we agreed that never really happened," Aaron joked back.

"Bum buddies can be rivals too," Felix teased.

"No, fans can't twist that as much as they can twist a rival taking your bum buddy away," Cry teased, smiling.

"Peace out, bros," Felix said again, smile falling to a look of concern.

"Good luck, Pewds, Cry," Aaron muttered, looking suddenly miserable again. All at once he wasn't quite in a joking mood anymore.

Felix reluctantly hung up. At least for now. Something told him this wasn't the last he would be in contact with them. He turned to Cry. "We have to do something," he said.

"This is going to be stupid and end badly, isn't it?" Cry deadpanned. Felix smirked.


	8. Replicas: Hide and Seek

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Not the greatest chapter, but enjoy nonetheless.)

Replicas: Hide and Seek

Aaron and Mark were searching the house for a back door or cellar exit. Why were they trying to find a back door when they knew where the front one was? Long story short, one look out the window had revealed Slenderman lingering in the shadows. Enough said.

They pushed open one of the last doors they hadn't tried yet and stiffened. "Hallways. I hate hallways," Aaron said, looking down it and readjusting the baby so it was closer to him. However, they had searched everywhere else so the door _had_ to be down there… But why did the damn corridor have to be so dark and long? They were both getting horrible, horrible vibes from this.

"I'll go first," Mark said, cautiously starting down. Aaron followed as closely as he possibly could, highly nervous. It was quiet. _Too_ quiet. And too dark. Mark shone the flashlight around. And there were too many doors, dammit! "Oh this is bad," he said.

"I get the feeling that in a second or two one of these doors is going to fly open and we're going to have to run like hell," Aaron said. The baby whimpered. He handed it over to Mark. His arms were getting tired carrying it.

YT

They continued down the dark hallway. "Here's the last door," Mark said. He pushed it slowly open and… "Holy…" a string of horrified curses best not repeated followed as Mark leapt about a foot in the air and staggered back, gawking in horror. The baby started screaming and crying, having been woken up.

"What is it?!" Aaron freaked.

"It's _Hide and Seek_!" Mark screamed, pointing in horror.

Aaron looked passed him and shrieked in terror, grabbing onto his head tightly. "Mark, Mark, Mark, it's him! It's the clown guy! Oh Jesus Christ, oh s**t!"

The person disguised as the clown stayed put. "No thank you! I don't want any! I don't' wanna! You can't make me! Oh this isn't happening, this isn't happening," Mark exclaimed as the two slowly backed away.

"They know… They know there is something more to this. They know, and they aren't supposed to. Now I need to kill them one by one," it said, improvising the speech to fit the situation. Eerily the clown thing turned. "I'm coming…" he said to them.

Mark slammed the door. "Nope!" he replied. He and Aaron turned, tearing down the hall and screaming in terror. The door burst open. The clown was racing after them! The baby shrieked in terror, bursting into tears.

"Oh no, oh no. Mark, Mark, Mark!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Dammit, Yami, don't talk to me while I'm _panicking_!" Mark shot. The baby kept screaming and crying.

"Where do we go?!" Aaron exclaimed.

"In here!" Mark said, throwing open a random door and pulling Aaron inside. He slammed it shut and quickly the two moved a desk in front of it. No easy task with a baby in their arms, might it be added. They ran to the other two doors in the room, each in turn, and shoved furniture in front of them as well.

YT

"That was _too_ close," Aaron said. The baby was still shrieking. Aaron took it from Mark and started trying to sooth it.

"Oh god this isn't happening, this isn't happening," Mark said, rubbing his face.

"Th-th-that th-thing was-was inside with us the-the whole time," Aaron stammered in terror. He had been _alone_ in this house with that thing while Mark was outside! Mark seemed to realize this as well as he shuddered, obviously imagining what could have happened had that thing—no, person—come out to 'play' while he'd been away from Aaron. For a moment Mark looked guilty, but this really was no time to feel guilty.

Mark looked around. "Score for IRL," he said. "In the _game_ we couldn't move stuff in front of the doors."

"But now we have to play a guessing game," Aaron protested. "He's going to be behind one of those doors. Point for Video Game Logic is that the AI isn't always that intelligent. You can glitch it or trick it fairly simply. We are dealing with in real life people, Mark. They have the ability to think outside the box and beyond a set path or course of action. We need a plan. A smart one."

"You mean a plan that's _not_ run screaming?" Mark weakly said, tone slightly higher pitched as he took back the baby. They had to get out, that was it! They weren't playing anymore!

"Oh god this is a living nightmare," Aaron said, drawing his hands down his face. He looked around. "Okay, I have a plan that might work. We keep the furniture in front of the door to the hallway in place. You and I unblock the other two doors and open them at the same time. If he's outside of either one, we'll have an escape through the other door."

"Right, sounds good," Mark agreed. He didn't like the idea of Aaron's door hiding the 'prize' behind it, because with the injury Aaron might not be able to get away quick enough. Mark looked at the pen he had. If it came to it, he swore he would use this thing. Like _that_ would do any good. Hah, hah. But if it hit just the right spot like an eye or the jugular… He didn't want to even be _thinking_ like this, he didn't want to say he would kill to escape, but he would… He would… That creeped him out more than a little. He'd given himself more credit than that, but then again he and Aaron had a baby to protect now, and he'd already watched Aaron do something horrible. He wasn't going to watch it again.

"Well, shall we?" Aaron asked, handing the baby over to Mark again. Mark nodded. Damn he wished he had some kind of baby harness or something. He supposed he could empty out his bag, but it was probably not a good idea to stuff a baby in there, even when emptied. "Hold on you guys, this is going to be a risky game," Aaron said to the cameras/microphones live-streaming them. It was an attempt to make it feel better at least.

YT

The two got to their respective pieces of furniture then nodded at each other. They moved them quickly and threw open the doors. Aaron swiftly pulled to the side on opening his. Good thing too, because the clown barged right in and missed him. He gawked in horror as it went at Mark. Mark screamed in terror. Okay, another score for IRL is there was always another way around. He dodged passed the clown and raced towards Aaron, holding the baby close. Aaron rushed through the door he'd just opened and the two slammed it behind them, putting furniture in front. They raced into the next room and then darted out into the hall. A door was opening back the other way! They gasped and charged through the hallway into the main part of the house.

"Out the front door, out the front door!" Mark exclaimed.

They threw the front door open and screamed in horror. "It's Slendy!" Aaron shrieked. Just then the clown appeared from behind them and seized Aaron. "Mark!" he exclaimed.

"No, Yami!" Mark cried out. He yelped as Slenderman seized him. On the plus side they weren't dead yet. "No, don't!" he panicked as the baby was seized from him. The infant was shrieking and crying again. Aaron viciously threw his head back, crashing it into the clown. The clown yelped, dropping him. Aaron fell to the ground and snatched the baby back. Mark grabbed out his pen and jabbed it backwards with all his strength, stabbing Slenderman in the stomach. Slenderman howled in pain. Mark jerked free. It wasn't a fatal wound, not with a pen, but it was bad enough. "Run!" he ordered Aaron. Aaron took off immediately with the infant. Mark ensured he stayed just behind his friend in case Aaron got any ideas. Swiftly the duo disappeared, leaving Slenderman and the Hide and Seek clown, or whatever it was, behind.

YT

The two collapsed on the ground, panting for breath. This was so bad. They exchanged looks and turned to the baby who was now starting to settle down. "We can't do this with the kid, man," Aaron remarked.

"We don't have any other choice. Except leave it here and let it die," Mark deadpanned.

"Take the baby. Make a run for it. Do _something_, Mark! We can't both get out of this, this time, and you know it," Aaron said.

"Don't challenge me," Mark replied seriously. He always took a challenge. "Come on. We're getting out of here if it's the last thing we do. He probably has a fence or something surrounding this place. It _has_ to be his property for him to be able to do all this stuff on it. If we can get out of his 'territory', we have a better chance. Think of it like the fence in 'Slender' that keeps you in the woods."

"To get out we'd need wire cutters, then," Aaron replied.

"And we need to get to a computer or something that can get us in contact with someone. To get either of those, we need to get back to SCP. There were _plenty_ of computers and random other things there," Mark said. He regretted suggesting it the next moment. Dismay and guilt and fear and hurt all crossed Aaron's expression at once. Oh yeah, the body. Mark cringed guiltily. "Never mind," he muttered.

"Forget SCP. If we can find our captor's base of operations we can go right to the source and access _his_ computer," Aaron whispered. There were microphones everywhere around here, he knew. This guy had to be some hacker to be pulling off this major of a live stream projection.

"Let's start looking, then. This isn't going to be an easy task," Mark said. He looked around and shuddered. "Something is definitely watching us," he murmured. Aaron nervously looked around and swallowed dryly. This would be a long night.


	9. A Reckless Move

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: For those who missed it, a chapter was posted yesterday as well.)

A Reckless Move

_I am sorry about the disappearance of Markiplier and Yamimash, PewDiePie. It must have really shaken everyone at PAX. My prayers are with you. I hope the others at PAX are holding up._

Felix exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist, drying his hair. He heard the sound just as the message came through. He frowned curiously, looking over, and went to the computer. He checked said message and read it through. He pursed his lips. He would have been grateful for said message, except it had been sent by the same person who had contacted him only last night.

"F***ing bastard," Felix muttered, because this didn't feel at all like a sympathetic message. This felt like a taunt. A very glaringly obvious and yet hidden taunt. Still… If he played along maybe he could get more information out of this mysterious figure behind the screen name. He sat down at the computer and wrote:

_Thanks. So, do you have any more information that could help? Been reaching out to the bros to see if any of them could help with the police investigation._

Felix sent it and waited a moment. Soon a reply came:

_I don't think they're out of state, if that's what you mean._

Felix inwardly smirked, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to think he was outwitting this guy. He got the feeling the person talking to him—if he were guilty—knew _exactly_ what he was doing and probably had a plan. Might even have his every move pegged. Felix typed a reply:

_But Texas has, like, nowhere to go to hide._

He sent it, playing it dumb. Soon the answer came:

_There are forests in the East._

Felix typed:

_Where the hell would he bring them there?_

The stranger replied:

_Somewhere that would best capture the aura he wanted to play with._

Felix resisted the urge to point out that this 'fan' seemed to know a lot about the kidnapper. That would put the other on the defense if he wasn't already. Soon he replied:

_Maybe I'll give the tip to the police._

The answer came almost instantly:

_And risk looking like a complete jackass? Maybe it would be better if you checked it out yourself first._

"So that's your game…" Felix murmured out loud. Question was _why_ did this person want him there? He replied:

_Are you crazy? This is police stuff. I'm a citizen, I hardly know them. I'm not going to end up kidnapped by this crazy person too._

In a moment the reply came:

_Crazy person? Perhaps he is, but you've got to admit he had to be damn clever to pull this off._

Anger got the best of him. Heatedly Felix typed back:

_The guy is a sick bastard._

Soon an answer came:

_Well, look at it this way. Their fans might go over to you. You're at the top, after all._

Felix's eyes widened and his lips parted in outrage. Oh he did _not_ just go there. Was he making this some crazy _power_ grab?! He didn't like the implications. Viciously he typed back, forgetting himself:

_You know what? Go f**k yourself, man. I don't give a s**t if you're my 'biggest fan' or not, if you think you can say that f***ing s**t about me or them or any of this, you've got another thing coming!_

He sent it then kicked himself right after. He may have just seriously screwed up. Sure enough there was no reply. He waited five minutes and still nothing. "F**k," he swore, angrily standing and storming off to get dressed.

Felix soon came back to the computer, clothed. He looked hopefully at the messages. Nothing. He sighed deeply and called down for the police to come up and check the thread over. They might be able to glean clues from it that he couldn't, and even if they didn't, they at least would have an idea of where to start to search. He'd done what he could for Mark and Aaron now.

YT

The police were examining the message thread. Marzia was hugging Felix as they watched from the bed. Her eyes were filled with worry. This was far too stressful. The police were copying the messages down. Felix disentangled himself from his girlfriend and approached the police. "You're going to start searching the forests, right?" Felix asked. The police looked incredulous. Felix started. "Well?" he asked, getting edgy.

"This is probably just a concerned fan, Mr. Kjellberg," an officer replied.

"Excuse me? This 'concerned fan' is taunting me!" Felix argued.

"Why?" the officer questioned. "You hardly know Mark and Aaron, you've said so yourself."

"Are you f***ing _kidding_ me?!" Felix demanded. "He's crazy, that's why!"

"We'll check out the forests, but right now they're not our priority," the officer answered.

"Not your… _What_?!" Felix all but screamed. "I can't believe this."

"The odds are it's a different crazy fan, unrelated to this case, who is looking to take you. There is no reason for this person to come for you when it's apparent that Mark Fishbach and Aaron Ash were the main targets," the officer said.

Felix's eyes widened. Was he implying…? "Are you saying… Oh _hell_ no! F**k you!" Felix shot viciously. Was that officer implying he was trying to turn this into something all about _him_?! F**k, how conceited did they think he was?! This was about Mark and Aaron, not him! Didn't matter whether the main cause behind it was him or not, right now Mark and Aaron should be the priority and these idiots were doing nothing!

"We're not saying your suspicion doesn't have base, and we'll check the lead out, but right now our efforts are focused further north," the officer said. Felix could only gawk in outrage as said officers left the room.

YT

Marzia rose and went worriedly towards him. "Felix?" she asked, reaching out.

"I… I have to take a walk and cool down," Felix said to her. He couldn't deal with this s**t now.

He began walking towards the door. She looked hurt and worried. "I love you," she called quietly after him.

He paused and turned. He blinked. After a moment he went back to her and kissed her tenderly. "Adjo, Marzia… I love you too… I'll be back later," he murmured. He turned and left, shutting the door behind him. He heard her starting to cry and for a moment hated himself. He almost went back in, but just then he spotted Cry exiting his room. "Cry, get back in there!" Felix said to him, swiftly heading towards his fellow YouTuber.

Cry looked confused but entered the room again with Felix. Felix once more pulled up the message thread as he explained the police incident. "Those _bastards_," Cry said.

"I'm going," Felix suddenly said.

Cry started. "_Excuse_ me?!" he demanded.

"I'm going to check it out," Felix answered.

"Are you out of your mind, Felix?! This is police business, not ours," Cry hissed.

"The police are doing squat!" Felix argued.

"You're going to get _yourself_ in trouble _too_!" Cry argued.

"Very likely. Don't worry about it, Cry. I've got this," Felix replied.

"You don't have crap!" Cry shot sharply, standing quickly up. "You're playing right into his hands, Felix!"

"Yep," Felix replied, turning and heading out.

"This isn't our business!" Cry called after him. "We can't get involved in this! We might end up f***ing things up even more!"

"Didn't say you had to come, Cry," Felix replied, smirking.

"Yeah, I know, and I'm _not_ coming!" Cry shot.

"Fine. I'll catch you later," Felix said, walking out of the room.

Cry gawked in disbelief. He shut his mouth and nervously licked his lips, shifting uncomfortably and looking at the message thread. "F**k," he whispered to himself. "Goddammit Felix." Quickly he started after his friend.

YT

Felix was starting up a rental car he was, well, renting. Yeah. If that wasn't obvious before. Suddenly he heard the door open and sharply looked over. Cry was slipping into the passenger side door, dialling a number on his cellphone. Felix looked at his friend quizzically. After a moment Cry said, "Cheyanne? Hey… Yeah, everything's going as well as can be expected… It's really spread then huh?" Cry chuckled. "Yeah, it's kind of hard. We're worried about them… Yeah. Look, I love you, okay? …No, nothing's wrong, I'm just shaken is all. Feel like saying I love you to pretty well everyone who's ever meant anything to me… I won't be back for a while yet, I'm sticking this one out, I just want you to know I love you… Yeah… Okay… Bye."

Cry hung up the phone. Felix was quiet. "You should stay, man. In case something goes wrong," he said.

"Like hell," Cry replied. "Just drive the damn car, Felix."

"Why are you so willing to come along anyway?" Felix asked.

"Because for an online friend, you're pretty great," Cry dryly replied, smirking. Felix chuckled and began driving.


	10. Replicas: Phobia

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Not the best chapter, but now it's starting to piece the puzzle together or give ideas, so I can actually start to get somewhere now. I have a purpose and a plan. More or less. I know what the psycho's motive is and reasons. It's just how to get the YouTubers to figure it out.)

Replicas: Phobia

Mark and Aaron gawked at the place they'd come across in horror. "Ph-Phobia," Aaron tightly said.

"Great. Just great," Mark said.

"Oh this is so _stupid_," Aaron groaned as they entered.

"No kidding," Mark replied. They were sitting ducks in here if something decided to come out and play… Which it probably would.

"Wait, I can grab the kitchen knife!" Aaron exclaimed. "Yes! Up yours, Phobia!" He handed the baby off to Mark immediately and moved swiftly away.

"Aaron! Aaron!" Mark called worriedly after him. Quickly he followed his friend. He rounded a corner and started as Aaron picked up a very large looking life.

"Mark, we have a means of defending ourselves!" Aaron exclaimed far more gleefully than he should have.

"I feel I'm missing something here," Mark deadpanned.

"Phobia, kitchen knife right there, character unable to pick it up. I ended up all but monster bait," Aaron replied, grimacing as he remembered the playthrough. But hey, at least he'd beaten it. Mark couldn't help but chuckle fondly at his friend. Kid was so innocent and naïve… Key word, _was_… Killing someone sort of took that from you… Unless Aaron didn't _want_ for it to be taken. Perhaps Aaron could overcome it still? He hoped so. It just wouldn't be the same, he believed, for Yami to be jaded. It was endearing when his friend was innocent and naïve. It was painful—surprisingly painful—when he wasn't. Aaron tucked the knife out of sight but within easy reach.

YT

The two went quietly through the house. "We might be able to find a computer here," Mark remarked.

"Not if he was going for authenticity, man. Wasn't much for computers in Phobia, if there were any," Aaron replied. He couldn't quite remember.

"Damn," Mark muttered. He yelped as he tripped on a piece of wood.

"Mark!" Aaron exclaimed worriedly.

"I'm fine," Mark replied, grimacing and standing. He coughed on the dust and brushed himself off. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, noticing a shape in the sunlight. He knelt down and picked it up. "Hey, I found a key!"

"Alright Mark, not too shabby," Aaron said.

"I know," Mark replied. "Let's see what it fits with." Aaron nodded.

The two began to test every door to check if it was locked or not. If it was locked, they would test the key. Soon enough they hit pay dirt. "Is it working?" Aaron hopefully asked.

The lock clicked. "Yes!" Mark cheered.

"Alright!" Aaron said. Mark pushed open the door. Glee turned to fear when they pushed the door open. It was pitch black. And it sounded like something was inside. They exchanged fearful looks. Mark moved Aaron back and to the side and shone his flashlight inside. There was nothing… Then where the hell was that moving noise coming from…? Mark frowned and beckoned for Aaron to enter in case the moving thing was coming from the hallway. Aaron did so, holding the sleeping baby. Mark followed, shutting the door behind him. Aaron was already examining the area.

"Try the drawer," Mark said, pointing at the desk drawer.

Aaron opened it and started. "Mark, there's a note!"

"What's it say?" Mark asked.

"It's… a drawing of a tablet?" Aaron asked confusedly.

"Yami, maybe he's left a tablet around for us to find!" Mark exclaimed.

"Pretty expensive gadget to just leave lying around," Aaron wryly joked.

"It must be a clue… But what does he expect us to _do_ with it…?" Mark asked.

"How about we worry about that _after_ we find it, shall we?" Aaron questioned.

"Fair enough," Mark replied. "It might be somewhere in this house or even this room. Let's keep searching." Aaron put the baby down on some soft things and started to help more thoroughly

YT

Only two minutes later the two were gawking as a secret door opened up. The baby, who had woken up and was now pulling itself across the ground on its stomach while waiting for the two to search, was looking up at them obliviously from next to a door across the hall that it had pushed open. "That baby's a _hound_ dog," Mark finally managed to say. At the same time it was a little creepy, because before they had come into this room and found the note, that door had been locked… Which meant someone had been near and they hadn't noticed.

"Whoa little guy, look at you go. You'd make a great detective," Aaron said, bending and picking the baby up. The baby burbled in reply and giggled, reaching up for Aaron's face. Aaron nuzzled it with a grin.

"Or a YouTube let's-player," Mark said, smirking. His friend chuckled.

The light heartedness fell as they looked down the stairs nervously. "Oh this is bad," Aaron whimpered. They were running low on batteries for the flashlight too. Hopefully their supply would hold out.

Mark nodded. He cautiously started down the stairs. Aaron stayed close. Mark swallowed tightly. The sound effect was just like from Phobia… The door the thing broke through in the dream was as creepy as anything too. Aaron was _so_ glad he had found the knife in the kitchen. He was still thanking IRL a million times over that he'd been able to pick it up. Mark was pretty damn sure Aaron had grabbed the blade purely out of spite towards the game for not letting him pick up the knife before. They went towards the door. It was already broken off its hinges. Just great. Fantastic.

The two went to the room and peered inside. They gasped. There was a tablet laying on top of a desk, just like what had been drawn in the note! Quickly they went to it. "You stand guard, I'll use it," Mark said.

Aaron nodded and went to the door, looking out into the blackness. He didn't like this. It was too convenient. This was definitely a trap of some kind, but at this point they didn't have much choice. He looked around then turned to Mark. Mark was busy on the tablet, trying to find their location. So far no luck. Apparently no luck communicating with the outside either. Aaron looked around. This room… Something seemed off about it. He frowned and started scrutinizing it. He kept an ear open for any possible danger, but something was telling him they were missing something here.

Mark pulled up a window and started. "Aaron, I found something!" he exclaimed. Aaron, skeptically examining a wall with a large tapestry covering most of it—it aroused his suspicion because he thought for a moment there was light behind it and besides, this was never a part of Phobia—looked over and went to Mark. He started, gasping. On the tablet was were a list of contacts. Every single one of them was a YouTuber! Beside each name were many, many details that this creeper most _definitely_ shouldn't have known, as well as details such as subscribers and the sorts of web shows they did.

"Oh wow," Aaron said in part amazement part horror.

"This… this is so creepy," Mark said, mouth agape. He looked up the most recently contacted one and started. "What?" he asked.

Aaron uttered a curse under his breath. "PewDiePie?" he asked.

"Wow, this guy has a ridiculous obsession for Felix," Mark said. "I mean there's more messages to him than to any other YouTuber!"

"So… if the guy who kidnapped us is such a huge fan of Felix, why did he go after _us_?" Aaron questioned.

"I… I don't know… Maybe this had nothing to do with him being a fan of anyone or who he likes best or doesn't. Maybe this is something else entirely. I mean _before_ PAX he was writing most often to… Huh, Cry," Mark replied. He was definitely curious now. "There area s**t ton of messages to Cry, and me and you are up there pretty high too." So they'd had contact with this fan before. Great. Just f***ing great.

YT

Aaron looked over the tapestry then reached hesitantly out, taking hold of it. Oh he felt he was going to regret this. "Oh god," he muttered under his breath.

"What's up?" Mark asked suddenly from behind.

Aaron turned. "I'm starting to think this isn't about just us at all. At least not in the way we thought," he replied. "Think about it. The notes were in Swedish, Felix is Swedish. The one most often contacted prior to PAX was Cry. Cry ended up getting pulled in this. The guy is a fan of ours, we end up kidnapped. Something is going on here, Mark. Something big." With luck, whatever was behind this tapestry would prove it. Aaron turned to it, took a deep breath, and then pulled it from the wall. His mouth dropped in horror. Mark gawked in disbelief, eyes popping from his head.

"Oh-my-f***ing-god," Mark hollowly said.

"M-M-Mark… I-I'm starting to think this is definitely beyond a doubt about a lot more people than you and I," Aaron stammered in disbelief, eyes wide. On the wall were pictures of all sorts of YouTubers, many of which they knew! …In fact there were some that should _not_ have even been there… Like pictures of girlfriends, boyfriends, houses, wives, children, families, pictures taken inside of houses this nut job should _not_ have been in. In short, it was a shrine. To YouTubers. Like stalker shrine. Major stalker shrine.

"Why did this crazed butt stabber want _us_? This shrine is for every big YouTuber we can name. Why is he dragging Felix and Cry into it too? There has to be some plot at play," Mark hoarsely whispered. "I mean he has to have some sort of idea for what he's going to do. Why kidnap us four in pairs? He'd _know_ that would be more trouble than it was worth. He'd know we'd have more of a chance of getting out."

"Maybe he wanted us four alive for a particular reason," Aaron suggested. "He might have completely different plans for us than he does for the others. Maybe he's a big fan of PewDiePie. If he sees you as a threat to him, Mark, then maybe he wants to watch you two fight to the death," Aaron suggested.

"We're going into crime drama crap now, Yami," Mark replied.

"Dude, we've been kidnapped by a psycho with a warped view of reality! Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if he _was_ plotting this like a crime drama. I'm telling you, death battle is pretty damn likely with a nut of this degree."

"But I'm not even _half_ as popular as Felix! I'm not even a _quarter_ as popular!" Mark argued.

"No, but you're sure _growing_ fast," Aaron replied.

"Then why the hell did he drag Cry and _you_ into this _too_?" Mark demanded. It was obvious the guy had been taunting Felix. "And what the hell is with all the _other_ YouTubers up on the wall?"

"Because we're pretty popular when collabing, maybe?" Aaron helplessly replied. "I mean our collabs sure help _my_ channel grow. Besides, maybe he's a fan of PewDieCry and Markimash is giving it a run for its money if not beating it," he lamely joked. "Hey, maybe if we can get him into PewDiePlier he'll be more willing to let us go."

"Wishful thinking," Mark deadpanned.

Aaron became serious again. "Mark…" he uneasily began.

"What are you thinking?" Mark asked.

Aaron examined the shrine then swallowed. "We're running a maze of death," he numbly said. "I'm thinking we aren't meant to get out alive; or if we're meant to live, we're not meant to ever get away."

"You… you might be right… Maybe he intends to do some crazy museum of YouTubers or something weird like that… I think… I think we may or may not be kinda sorta maybe dealing with a budding serial killer; or trophy hunter," Mark said.

"Going after YouTubers?" Aaron asked. "Why?"

"Why not?" Mark lamely answered. "He must be planning to lure Felix and Cry here too."

"IRL nobody in their right _mind_ would put their life at risk for a couple of online friends and come all the way here to save them, right?" Aaron asked nervously.

"Right… Unless they were incredibly, incredibly loyal to those friends and incredibly, incredibly self-sacrificing, but yeah, that's unlikely," Mark replied.

"Or unless they were challenged and or slighted enough to get defiant and reckless," Aaron said.

"Touché," Mark admitted. "But… Maybe we can get Cry and Felix to save us now in a more indirect way before they can screw themselves over." Aaron looked curiously at him then caught on. Twitter, Skype, or Tumblr! Thank you, social media!

Quickly they turned attention to the tablet, which the baby was watching in curious fascination. Swiftly Mark PMed Cry. "Come on reply, please reply," he pled out loud.

"He might be too mad at this fan to bother," Aaron worriedly said. "Oh man we're so screwed."

"Cry, come on," Mark practically begged.

YT

Felix and Cry, still driving towards East Texas, were sitting in silence. Cry was fiddling around on his phone, checking his social media. He went to Twitter and started, stiffening. "That fan is trying to contact me!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, here's what you write: Look bro, I'm not in the mood to talk to you today. Still pretty f***ing p***ed with you. Now I've got to go. More than a little freaked out right about now," Felix directed.

"Yeah, no, not writing that," Cry replied. "Might keep the basic idea, though." Quickly he wrote:

_You f***ing asshole! Where are Mark and Aaron?! Damn you!_

Okay, so it wasn't exactly the basic idea, but still. He waited a moment. Then the reply:

_Cry, Felix, it's us!_

Cry sat straight up, gasping. "It's Mark and Aaron!" he exclaimed.

"Not good, bro," Felix replied. That meant that they'd found technology. Probably technology the psycho _wanted_ them to find, which was never good.

_Cryaotic:_ _But how? What?_

_Yamimash:_ _It's a long, long story involving the world of YouTubing more so than you'd think._

A minute later a picture came through. Cry gasped. Felix quickly looked over. Cry numbly showed him. Felix's mouth dropped. "Oh my f***ing…!" Felix began in horror. He went into a sting of vulgarities in Swedish and English both that were better left untranslated and not repeated. His stomach dropped like a stone in a sort of cold dread. Serial Killer. Everything about this was screaming serial killer. Crazed stalker he could see—and he guessed in a way this guy was—but for the maniac to actually go to _serial_ killing? This was something else entirely.

Cry was looking at the picture in horror. Dammit, he'd _known_ something was up with this whacko. He'd _known_ they were getting in over their heads… He'd just had no idea how _much_ of an obsessed and bloodthirsty fan they were dealing with. "What-the hell-is happening?" Cry asked out loud.

_Markipler: We have theories, but that's about all we've got at the moment. Might want to hold on for this one._

Soon enough Mark and Aaron had written up their theories and sent them to Cry.

YT

Cry read it out loud. Felix listened in horror. This-was not-happening. This _couldn't_ be happening! Cry finished reading.

_Cryaotic: I'm sending the story to the police._

"Sending this to the cops. Maybe then they'll take this seriously," Cry said out loud to Felix.

_Markiplier: Felix, Cry, we badly need you guys' help. Does it say anywhere where this nut job lives?_

_Cryaotic: No. And the police have no intention of looking to the East Forests in Texas for a good while yet. They figure it isn't a priority search area._

"Damn," Aaron whispered to Mark. "They _cannot_ be that incompetent."

"No one's perfect," Mark lamely defended.

_Markiplier: Okay, here's what you need to do. The cabin the guy first brought us to, he might have left something behind that'll convince the police it's a priority. I think between Yami and me we can remember the way._

_Cryaotic: The directions will get to the police, count on it, but don't hold your breath._

Soon enough directions came to them. Cryaotic immediately sent said directions to the police. "Tell them a car is already on its way to where they are," Felix said as Cry finished.

"You mean us?" Cry asked.

"Don't let _them_ know that," Felix replied.

"I'm letting them know it," Cry replied. Quickly he sent the message.

_Markiplier: Finally we're getting somewhere!_

_Yamimash: Felix, Cry, you're the greatest!_

_Cryaotic: We're not kidding, guys._

YT

There was no reply for a long time. They almost thought Mark and Aaron had had to make a quick getaway. Suddenly, though, a reply came.

_Markiplier: Don't even think about it._

_Cryaotic: Too late. We're heading to the eastern forest as we speak. Not too far from them either._

_Markiplier: You two need to turn back right now! You're going to get yourselves killed!_

_Yamimash: This isn't you guys' faults, you're not obliged to set it right! This might be a trap for all we know!_

_Cryaotic: It's all or nothing now, Aaron, trap or no trap. No one else is going to come to your rescue this time._

_Markiplier: We'll just end up giving the police __**more**__ people to save!_

_Yamimash: What if things go wrong?_

_Cryaotic: Too late to go back now, guys. Look, it'll be okay. Worst that can happen is the rescue attempt fails._

_Yamimash: If it does?_

_Cryaotic: From Pewds: Then Cry and I will probably end up dead. If it fails badly __**you**__ two will end up dead. If it fails epically, __**everybody**__ ends up dead._

_Yamimash: …Oh… Great…_

_Markiplier: Do or die time, Yami, guys. Do or die._

_Cryaotic: Something is out of whack here. If this guy wants us dead, why is he so focused on taking or luring in pairs? He would have known we'd stand a better chance in pairs. And if he's getting the four of us together intentionally, it would be crazy for him to think he could take us all out._

_Markiplier: Yeah, that's what's bugging us too._

_Cryaotic: From Pewds: Watch yourself bros. Peace._

_Yamimash: Yeah…_

_Markiplier: Look… whatever happens to us—you know, if you guys don't make it or something goes wrong—it's not your faults._

_Cryaotic: From Felix: Sure __**feels**__ like it is._

_Markiplier: Can't choose your fans._

Cry and Felix managed something of a smirk on reading this, but said smirks fell just as quickly to nervous looks. God, what were they getting themselves into?

_Cryaotic: From Felix: I'm sorry, guys._

_Markiplier: It isn't your fault. Don't even think about starting to believe otherwise. Before you know it this'll all be over and we'll be gloating about it._

_Cryaotic: From Felix: Peace out bros. From me: Hang in there._

_Yamimash: Good luck Cry, Felix._

Reluctantly Cry signed out and put the phone down. "We are so dead," he said.

"Don't be thinking like that, Cry," Felix warned. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted to keep up his resolve to get there. Not have said resolve crushed. To come back to his senses now, or think this over, would mean to realize how stupid it was and to turn back.

"God this is dumb," Cry murmured. Felix was quiet. Inwardly he agreed. He wanted to turn back in fact. This wasn't their business… But they were too far in now… And if this had to do with them too for some reason, or if this guy had a plan involving other YouTubers, things would get bad quickly if it wasn't acted on fast. But what could they do? Well, they guessed they'd find out soon enough.

YT

Mark and Aaron shut off the tablet. All of a sudden they were seized from behind and cried out in terror. The baby was snatched from them and they had their mouths covered with the sweet smelling cloths again. Oh not again. Their captor went to the tablet and turned it on again, looking over the conversation in satisfaction. He chuckled. That was the last sound the two heard besides the baby screaming and shrieking in the grasps of the men. Damn Phobia…


	11. Replicas: Vanish

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: I wanted to do a lot more with this chapter, but I just couldn't figure out how to capture it or the rage and/or panic it instilled in Mark except for at the start. I could have had a bunch more Markiplier rantings about the game, but I'm not sure I could capture how well he rants about it over and over again. Enjoy, though.)

Replicas: Vanish

Cry and Felix were driving into a quiet little town now. That looked more like a town from some game or other than an actual town, to be honest, so chances were it was. Soon they parked and looked around. "Okay. Doesn't seem too bad. Yeah, we can do this," Cry remarked. He cautiously got out of the car with Felix.

"Too quiet, bro," Felix uncertainly said, looking around. "This town is totally faked."

"Or if it's real it's the home of the maniac and his following," Cry said. "Which means we're on his turf. That's good. We're getting close to Mark and Aaron. See, this is what happens when fantasy and reality start to mesh in someone's mind."

"You get a psychotic obsessed fan trying to kill and or kidnap you?" Felix asked, smirking.

"In extreme cases yes," Cry answered, smirking back. "Oh boy we're gonna have to be careful here."

"We got s**t to defend ourselves with, Cry," Felix dryly said.

"No kidding," Cry replied, looking around. He started forward. Felix followed carefully, looking around for something that might come in handy to them. "Wait, I hear something," Cry hissed.

"Quick, in here," Felix said, seizing his friend's arm and pulling him into a nearby ally. Quietly the two peered around the corner. They gasped at what they saw. Slenderman, the clown from Hide and Seek, and a few other costumed figures were leading along two blindfolded figures! "Oh my god," Felix whispered.

"It's Aaron and Mark," Cry gasped. Going out there now would be a death sentence. They couldn't do anything for their friends! But they could follow, though, and see where the two were being taken. Right? They exchanged looks and nodded at each other in mutual understanding. Silently they began trailing behind.

YT

Mark and Aaron were being led blindfolded down into some dark and damp place. It could be a cave or tunnel, they determined. The intercom crackled to life. "You know, before all of this started the original plan was to kill you. But then I got a much better idea. Considering you live to see it, I think you'll appreciate what that idea was," the voice said. "You have to prove yourselves worthy, though." They didn't grace it with an answer. "Oh we're going to have fun alright," the man said again. "I think you're both well acquainted with this game. Particularly you, Markiplier. Maybe it should _just_ be you running this round. After all, Yamimash, you're in quite a bit of pain with that leg, aren't you? Might be kinder to put you out of your misery like one would a dog."

"I'm not a dog, though!" Aaron retorted immediately, offended and a more than a little freaked out that their captor was pondering 'putting him down'.

"True. And it _is_ more fun to watch you two together," the man admitted over the intercom. They were definitely still being live-streamed if this guy could hear what they were saying. The blindfolds were removed from them. They were thrust forward into a tunnel and fell with grunts. The door was slammed shut behind them. "Oh, I'm going to love this," the man said. The intercom went off.

YT

Mark and Aaron looked up and around. "We would be _horrible_ dads," Aaron half-heartedly joked, disgusted at how easily they'd lost the baby. Dammit, they needed to find that kid!

"This place…" Mark began. He gasped, going white. Aaron blinked. This looked familiar, what was it ag… "No!" Mark exclaimed in utter and complete horror and disgust. "Oh god f***ing dammit! _No_!" he exclaimed. Aaron started on noting the panic in his eyes.

"Mark?" Aaron asked curiously.

"No, no, no, no, _no_!" Mark exclaimed again. Immediately he launched into an even worse string of curses than he had when they'd run into clown man back at the cabin. He was pacing in terror now and disbelief. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening! Ugh, oh _god_ please no!" he finally finished.

"Mark, what game is this?" Aaron asked. He got a sense of dread, though. He believed he might know now.

"_Vanish_! Oh god, Yami, it's _Vanish_, do you hear me? _Vanish_!" Mark freaked, seizing Aaron's shoulders tightly and shaking him. "It's the bane of my existence, it's the thing that haunts me at night, it's the source of the worst luck I have _ever_ had in all my video gaming career and the single most horrible, horrible nightmare of a game that _I've_ ever played though! No, no, I'm done. That's it, I'm done. Shoot me now! I surrender. Put me out of my misery oh great and powerful crazed butt stabber. No, no, just-just no. _No_! No, I'm not dealing with it again, Nope, uh uh, nadda, no way. I'm sitting right here and waiting to die. He wins, I lose. Take my things, take the pen, use it if you have to, it's been nice knowing you, Aaron." Mark sat on the ground and leaned against the wall, burying his face in his hands. There was no force in heaven or hell that could get him to move from this spot.

YT

Aaron gawked at his friend in disbelief. "Mark, get a _grip_ man!" he exclaimed.

"No! No! _You_ don't understand. This whole thing was hopeless from the _start_. We aren't getting out, Yami, we aren't! This is our execution, this is where we die. He's just dragging it out. If I had a gun, I'd shoot myself and end it quickly instead of this suffering bull!" Mark sharply shot.

"Come _on_ man, you're more of a fighter than that! I _know_ you! Enough exaggerating the gravity and come on!" Aaron exclaimed. "Since when am _I_ the pillar to lean on? Mark, get up right now, seriously dude! We can do this, we _can_! We have to find the baby!"

Mark said nothing, leaning back against the cavern wall with eyes tightly shut. Aaron fell silent. It hit him, then. He knew that Mark had been being strong and determined throughout this whole ordeal. He knew that Mark had done everything he could to keep Aaron's hopes up as well as his own. He knew that Mark had promised up and down—probably to himself even more often than to Aaron—that he would get them both out of this alive and that everything was going to be okay… What Aaron hadn't understood fully until right now was that maybe, just maybe, the only reason Mark had lasted as long as he did was for _his_ sake, and if he hadn't been here Mark would have been done long ago… Now it was all crashing down…

It wasn't this game or scenario that broke Mark—though don't get him wrong, that probably played a huge part in it—it was what it represented to him. It represented no hope, it represented despair and impossibility. It meant he'd done everything he possibly could do and in the end it still just wasn't enough and would never _be_ enough. It wasn't enough to even save himself or just the baby or _Aaron_ let alone all of them. Now Mark couldn't keep it up anymore. He just couldn't. He couldn't… He had run out of hope and he had run out of belief that they would ever get out. He had been the reassurance, the optimistic one, the one that kept pressing him forward even when he had wanted to quit… Right now, Aaron realized, Mark needed to stop being the one who had all the hope… Now it was _his_ turn to step-up and take charge.

Aaron sighed and sat next to Mark. He was silent. "Look, I know you don't want to hear it, but we're going to make it. We both are," Aaron said. "I'm not leaving you behind because you don't have the balls to keep on going."

"Score something or other for Video Game Logic. You _get_ second chances. You can walk away. You can die a bajillion times and in the end you can just walk away… Reality doesn't give you tenth, millionth, or bajillionth chances," Mark muttered.

"Score for reality is that this place won't warp and the bad guys won't spawn in different random locations," Aaron pointed out. Mark looked dubiously at him, but he _did_ make a point. "Here we won't pass out if we take too long." Unless the guy had gas channelling into this place, in that case they would, but Aaron wasn't about to voice _that_ thought out loud. Right now he needed to motivate Mark to keep moving, not motivate him to curl up into a ball and wait for death. "Think of our families and friends and fans, man," Aaron lamely teased, offering a weak smile. "They're waiting for us to get out. Just… Just please don't give up… I can't _do_ this without you, Mark."

"Yes you can," Mark seriously replied, frowning at him.

"Let me rephrase. I don't _want_ to. You didn't give up on me, I'm not giving up on you," Aaron answered.

Mark was quiet a long moment. "You do make a point…" he ponderously muttered. Aaron offered a weak but encouraging smile. Mark finally sighed. "Fine, you win," he grumbled. "Ugh, I'm going to regret this."

"Yes! Your big brother complex for the win!" Aaron cheered, standing up and helping his friend up.

"Big brother complex?" Mark asked.

"Oh please, you've been playing that role since the start," Aaron teased. Mark smirked and chuckled. Maybe he _had_ been.

"Whatever 'little bro'. You keep telling yourself that," he teased, ruffling Aaron's hair playfully.

YT

The two went out beyond the bars and into the dark hallway. They shuddered. "Oh I'm going to regret this," Mark moaned tightly.

"I can take the lead for a bit," Aaron replied. He hadn't beaten this game that he recalled, but he was willing to bet he'd probably have had better luck than _Mark_ ever had.

"You do that. Maybe your _good_ luck will offset my bad," Mark replied. Aaron chuckled and started off. Mark followed closely, holding his pen—and laughing at its uselessness—tight. He so should have grabbed that damn fire poker. Not even three minutes later they were gawking at one of the people disguised as a 'mole man' crouched in a corridor. "With our luck it's _that_ way," Mark groaned in a whisper. Aaron nodded dryly.

"One of the first points I gave for IRL was that you could use the environment to your advantage," Aaron replied, kneeling and picking up a rock. He threw it down another path. Quickly the two of them pulled out of sight. The mole man soon rose and started towards the sound the rock had made. Swiftly Mark and Aaron slipped passed him and down the hallway he'd vacated.

"Oh this had better be the right way and not some dead end," Mark tightly said. Aaron picked up a piece of clay and drew an X on the stone.

"These can tell us where we've been and haven't been," Aaron said. "No confusion with red or white arrows either.

"Greek myth inspired. I like," Mark replied, smirking.

"Ariadne's golden thread for the win," Aaron answered.

YT

They ran, panting, into a big room. Wow that had been close. They'd almost run right into one of the mole men! "It's this room!" Mark exclaimed. "We should find glow sticks here!"

"Good thing too. Your flashlight is almost out of batteries," Aaron said, panting.

"You still have your lantern," Mark pointed out.

"I get the feeling we're going to need it later on," Aaron dryly answered. Mark grimaced. He was expecting they would run into Amnesia again, apparently. Unfortunately he was probably right. The two began scanning the room.

"Found them!" Mark said, grabbing the glow sticks. Which amounted to two. He shook one, activating it. "Score whatever for IRL, these things give off a lot more light than they did in the game."

"IRL is trouncing Video Game Logic," Aaron joked.

"IRL rules," Mark said with a grin. "I mean not right now it doesn't given our situation, but in general." Aaron nodded. They started down another path carefully.

"I hear a mole man," Aaron whispered.

"Ditto," Mark muttered. "Hey, this path here."

"Mark, you know what happens when you try to choose paths in this game," Aaron teased.

"But I get a good feeling about this one!" Mark joked in protest.

"Very well, let's brave it," Aaron said. If they kept walking the way they were going they'd probably run into the mole man anyway. "Another point for IRL, you have a better sense of sound and the direction it's coming from. At least here."

YT

Path was a good choice. They were in the room with the keys and grinning in excitement. "We're so close!" Mark excitedly said.

"Let's go, man," Aaron said. "We have no time to lose!" Swiftly they raced down a path they hadn't gone down yet. The clay was almost gone, so it was a good thing they were so close… They hoped… "I see light!" Aaron exclaimed, pointing.

"I hear footsteps," Mark fearfully said.

Aaron started. "Don't look back, man, don't look back," he said. Mark nervously nodded. They reached the gate. Aaron whipped out the keys and quickly unlocked it. The footsteps were like right behind them. They were freaking out.

"You up first!" Mark ordered.

"But…" Aaron began.

"Don't argue, Yami!" Mark shot. Aaron cringed, but there wasn't time to protest. They reached the ladder and he leapt onto it, quickly climbing. Mark was swift to follow. He almost died of a heart attack when fingers brushed his ankle. He yelped and kicked viciously back then sped up quicker. Aaron reached the top and leapt out of the well. He turned and gasped. The mole man was like right on Mark's heels! Mark leapt up through the well looking horrified. Aaron slammed shut the metal grate above said well and locked it. The mole man hissed and growled in fury, reaching for them. They drew away, gawking. Soon, though, it retreated.

Aaron and Mark looked around and started. "Oh no," Aaron said, eyes widening in horror. "We're in _Five Nights at Freddy's_!" Just then the last glow stick died. The two exchanged uncertain looks. This-was bad.

YT

Meanwhile, Felix and Cry followed the ones who had tossed Mark and Aaron into the tunnel. They had tried to get the door open, but they'd been unable too. The people in disguise had had the keys, apparently, and they got a feeling that pretty soon the kidnapper would know they were here, if he didn't already. For all they knew they were being live streamed right now. They froze, looking up at the building the group entered in horror. "Is that…" Cry began.

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza? Oh yeah," Felix replied, eyes wide.

"So, what do we do? Why are they going there? Will Mark and Aaron end up in that place? Are they expecting _us_ to go?" Cry asked.

"I… I don't know," Felix answered. "What do we do?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe stake it out for a bit?" Cry suggested.

"Guess that's about _all_ we can do," Felix relented. The two crouched down beside a dumpster and waited for an opportunity to act.


	12. Pewds and Cry Play Amnesia

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Sorry for the wait. Have majorly changed up and improved the story from what it originally was, so there were a lot of chapters I needed to add or fix on my original draft of it. Still not entirely happy with this chapter, but enjoy nonetheless.)

Pewds and Cry Play Amnesia

Felix and Cry waited. There was nothing so far. Just then, though, they heard the sound of a crying baby and started. Quickly they turned and saw some figures costumed as Amnesia monsters heading away carrying a baby in their arms! "That's the baby Mark mentioned!" Cry exclaimed, eyes widening in horror. Dammit, now they had a choice. Either they tried to save Mark and Aaron, or they tried to save the baby.

"F***ing choices," Felix groaned, thinking fast. "Mark and Aaron should be able to hold their own for a little bit longer, but that baby doesn't stand a chance in hell."

"So we just leave Mark and Aaron?" Cry asked.

"I don't want to, bro. You stay here and wait. I'll get the baby," Felix said.

"No. I don't think so. We _aren't_ separating! We saw how well that worked for Mark and Aaron!" Cry protested.

"I'm going after the baby. I want to stay here and help them, seriously, but _they_ aren't helpless," Felix stubbornly insisted. The baby, on the other hand, was.

"Who says I don't agree with you?" Cry asked, standing up. "Let's go." He looked back at _Freddy Fazbear's Pizza_ and sadness came to his eyes. "Sorry guys," he murmured sadly. He hated leaving them like this, but this was a decision that didn't have a right choice. Quickly he and Felix began stalking after the figures who were dressed in Amnesia garb.

YT

Quietly the duo trailed the 'grunts' and 'brutes' to a huge house. It looked like something out of Amnesia alright. "You think this might be the kidnapper's main base?" Cry whispered.

"I got no clue, Cry," Felix answered. "Looks like we're finding out the hard way." Silently he started towards it. Cry followed cautiously, looking uneasily around.

"Oh god I hate this," Cry apprehensively said. "I feel like he knows we're here."

"With _our_ luck he probably _does_," Felix stated pessimistically. They reached the trap door that the monsters had entered and looked around. They met each other's eyes nervously. "Basement. We start out in the f***ing basement."

"Been nice knowing you, man," Cry said.

"Same here," Felix answered. They took a deep breath and pushed open the doors, entering the manor. They looked around. A cool breeze blew through. Cry shuddered. "I hate Amnesia," he said.

"Love-hate, you mean," Felix teased, smirking. Cry smirked back. Yeah, that was probably closer. They began searching the room they were in.

"Found a lantern," Cry soon said, pulling said lantern out.

"I got a few tinderboxes and some oil," Felix replied, going over to him and handing him the oil. He pocketed the tinderboxes for himself. "We're set. You taking the lead?"

"I _do_ have the lantern," Cry replied. He filled it with the oil and lit it up. He lifted it, looking around. "Oh boy this is going to be a nightmare," he muttered.

YT

They went down the corridor and through the house. Every noise and sound made them jump, prepared for something to pop out at them any minute. Cry stopped and shuddered, grimacing. "What is it?" Felix asked.

"Water part," Cry dryly answered. Felix grimaced, looking uneasily at the water. They exchanged uncertain looks. "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three!" Cry exclaimed. Immediately they charged into the water and began running. Splashing was heard behind them.

"No f***ing way!" Felix exclaimed. "Get on a box, Cry!" Quickly the two leapt up onto one and gawked down at the water. A figure was swimming there.

"No way. Is that a barracuda?" Cry asked.

"Possibly?" Felix tightly replied. "Or Snakehead. Can't make it out from here." He didn't have an encyclopedic knowledge about fish either, so for all he knew he was way off.

"Dammit!" Cry exclaimed. "How are we supposed to outrun a fish in water?" he demanded. At least it wasn't a Kaernk, or however you said it, like what was in the games.

"Dumb luck?" Felix lamely offered, shrugging. "Look on the bright side, human isn't their favorite food."

"This nut job we're dealing with might have starved it for just this reason," Cry pointed out.

"Good point," Felix said, grimacing. Just then they heard a baby crying and froze.

YT

"Felix, _tell_ me that's the baby," Cry said.

"Oh god I hope so, bro," Felix replied. The crying continued distantly.

"Okay, this is good. Alright. Now we just have to get to it. This psycho just _had_ to be this twisted," Cry said. He was silent a moment, thinking. "Remember when I said Amnesia often had backstories that involve people being brutally tortured or experimented on…"

"Why?" Felix asked.

Cry looked gravely over at him. "I stand by the possibility Mark and Aaron aren't the only prisoners here," he stated, remembering the note Mark and Aaron had found that had claimed as much.

Felix looked sharply over at him, eyes wide. If this whack job was going for authenticity, he was doing a damn good job at it. If there were other captives in this place like the note Mark and Aaron had found said… Oh boy they had their work cut out for them. They leapt into the water and began racing towards the sounds of the crying baby, desperately trying to stay ahead of the dangerous looking fish pursuing them. "This is crazy!" Felix exclaimed. A door was up ahead. Immediately they yanked it open and got up onto the steps out of the water. The fish swam around for a bit then retreated. Cry turned around, cautiously going up the stairs. Felix watched the water a moment longer then followed. Cry had paused outside of a door, reading a sign. He glanced back at Felix. "Dungeons," he gravely stated. "I'm… I'm afraid the blood we see won't be fake…" he admitted. Felix shifted nervously then put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. Boldly he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Cry followed.

YT

The two covered their noses, nearly gagging. "Point for Video Game Logic. You can't smell the blood and decay," Cry choked.

"This _can't_ be healthy!" Felix exclaimed.

"It isn't," Cry replied, grimacing. Ugh, they were going to get sick after this, he knew they were. They heard the baby crying. It sounded closer. Now they heard a woman screaming a man's name. The man sounded like he was fighting back against something. Felix and Cry exchanged alarmed looks. Quickly they ran towards the sounds. "Hey! Hey!" Cry called out. "Is anyone here? Hey! Leave them alone!" He knew full well he was inviting the Grunts and Brutes down on them both, but if there was a chance these were real people they were hearing, there was no way in hell he was letting it go!

They raced around a corner. An arm suddenly stuck out through the doors of a prison. Felix screamed in horror, leaping back. "Oh Jesus!" he exclaimed in alarm, backing away quickly.

She was speaking. She was begging something in a different language. The two exchanged looks, shivering, and approached. "M-Ma'am?" Cry asked. She kept speaking. "Ma'am, we can't understand!" Cry exclaimed.

"Yes we can," Felix numbly replied. Cry looked curiously at him. "Cry, she's speaking my language!" Felix went to the bars quickly and looked in. He gasped, paling, and pulled back. "C-Cry, sh-she's real and I-I don't think she's an actress," he stammered, shaken. Cry gulped and went to the bars, peering through. He cringed and quickly looked away. Felix looked back into the cell cautiously. The woman was clothed in, well, you know how the bodies in Amnesia were clothed… or weren't rather… She looked emaciated. God, how long had she been here for? Felix stepped back.

"_Say_ something to her," Cry pled, voice stressed. He noticed a camera blinking. He got the suspicion they were being live-streamed right now. Thank goodness he'd put on the mask when they'd first arrived in this place. Ugh, what was he doing worrying about his identity being revealed? Right now that wasn't even _close_ to a priority.

"Don't worry about it. I've got this, Cry," Felix calmly replied. He turned to the bars and went to them. Calmly he began speaking to her in their native tongue. She almost cheered in delight on hearing it being spoken to her.

"What did you ask?" Cry asked.

"I asked how long she'd been here," Felix replied. "She's asking if we're police." He turned back to her, answering solemnly in Swedish. He would revisit the 'how long have you been here' question later. She burst into tears on hearing they weren't. Felix felt a tightening in his throat. She looked up at him, eyes miserable, and made a rocking motion as she began to speak again. "Oh s**t…" he said, feeling suddenly ill.

"What?" Cry whispered.

"Cry… the baby Mark and Aaron found is hers…" Felix answered. Cry caught his breath. Just then they heard a man scream. The woman began shrieking, trying to rip the door off the hinges. She was screaming a name again. Her husband's, most probably. Felix grabbed the door, trying to pry it open. "Cry, find a key!" he insisted desperately.

Cry didn't move. After a moment he turned. "There isn't one, Felix," he said.

"You haven't even looked!" Felix shouted.

"Yes I did! If there's a key it isn't in this area!" Cry argued. Felix turned desperately back to the captive. This was so bad! Cry shook his head, closing his eyes tightly, then all at once raced in the direction of the man's voice.

"Cry! Cry, wait, we can't leave her!" Felix called after him.

"You get her, I'll get the man!" Cry called back. Felix blinked then turned to her. She was frantically pointing and screaming at him to save the man. Felix hesitated but soon nodded.

"I'll be back," Felix promised in Swedish, squeezing her hand. Immediately he ran after Cry.

YT

Cry and Felix burst through a door and gasped. Balcony! They looked over the edge. Two figures disguised as Grunts were wrestling with a desperately fighting man. "Stop!" Cry shouted furiously at them. "It's not him you're after, stop it!" Instantly he began running down the steps. Felix followed, scowling and grabbing a loose board. He might find use for it here. The man's voice was raised excitedly. Cry and Felix both knew they had a very short window of opportunity to save him. The Grunts would just as soon kill the guy as look at him. Felix vaulted over the railing. It was quite a drop. He cried out in pain as he hit the ground, but the pain would pass. He didn't think anything had broken, though there was definitely a sprain if nothing else. Or maybe it _was_ a small fracture. He ran toward the grunts, board held like a bat. They released the man and fled, forgetting that they were supposed to _be_ the pursuers. Cry grabbed a chair as he reached the bottom of the stairs and threw it after the two Grunts. One stumbled but caught its balance again. They raced through a door and were gone

Cry and Felix turned quickly to the man. He was lying shivering and bleeding on the ground. They ran to him. "Oh god, what did they do to you?" Cry asked.

The man desperately asked a question. "He's asking if we're police," Felix said. He replied quickly but reassuringly. "I told him we weren't, but that we're here to help," he explained to a puzzled looking Cry.

The man asked a question. "What did he ask?" Cry asked.

"If his wife is still alive," Felix replied. He turned to the man and replied in the affirmative, nodding. There was another question. Felix's face fell. "He asked about his baby. I'm going to tell him we don't know where it is." Felix responded swiftly.

"No," the man sobbed, covering his face.

"Oh man, what did they do to you?" Cry asked, surveying the man's injuries in appall. They'd done a number on him with whatever they'd used. At least they hadn't wrestled him to one of the torture devices that killed you flat out. Yet. _That_ was something. Oh who was he kidding? The man probably _wished_ he were dead right about now.

"Why are you here?" Felix asked in Swedish. "Do you know where the key to your wife's cell is?" he asked.

The man pointed towards a cell. Cry headed that way. He pulled open the door. "Score!" he exclaimed, grabbing the key. "This must unlock the woman's cell! The Grunts probably didn't have time to grab it." He returned to Felix and the man.

"Find my baby," the man said in Swedish.

"We don't know where," Felix answered.

"I will show you what I know of this place so far," the man said. Felix inwardly sighed in relief. This prisoner knew something about the layout of this manor, then. That would be a huge help. "Free my wife."

"We're on it," Felix replied. Switching to English, he said, "Cry, free his wife." Cry was already heading up the stairs. Felix and the man followed.

YT

The woman fell into the man's arms sobbing in misery and fear. "Great, two more to get out alive," Cry said. "_We've _hardly held our own!" He couldn't for the life of him understand how Mark and Aaron had kept going this long.

"I know," Felix gravely said. The man and the woman were talking in Swedish. Finally the woman nodded, though reluctantly.

The man turned to them. "Cover her, please," he said to Felix. Felix immediately removed his coat and handed it to the woman. She put it on, covering herself.

"There might be shirts in one of the wardrobes here," Cry lamely offered the man, shrugging. At least if this Amnesia layout was as authentic as everything _else_ there would be. Felix translated the remark to the man.

"I'm fine. We have to find my son. My wife will stay here with the key in case we need to retreat into somewhere safe," he said to them. Felix translated to Cry. Cry exchanged uncertain looks with his friend but nodded nonetheless. The man was in his thirties, they presumed. So was the woman. The woman went back into the cell and locked it behind her. She put her hands on the bars. Her husband kissed them gently and nuzzled her. He said something to her in Swedish.

"What did he say?" Cry asked.

Felix was quiet. Finally he bowed his head, closing his eyes. "He… he promised her he'd be back…" It was more or less the same promise he'd given Marzia… And in so many words the same assurance Cry had given Cheyanne. Cry cringed.

The man kissed the woman's hands once more then turned to them. "Come," he said. They nodded and followed him. Honestly they were glad to have someone older than them around. Felt kind of comforting even though, you know, technically they were the saviors they guessed.

YT

The man led them the way the Grunts had gone. "The man who took us is crazy," he said.

Felix translated to Cry. "No kidding," Cry dryly agreed.

"He took my baby," the man said.

Felix again translated then turned to the man. "We know," he replied. "He kidnapped two friends of ours for some sick twisted game. They found your kid in a house being smothered by plastic. They lost him when they were taken again." Dread came to the man's eyes. Felix bit is tongue sharply. He probably shouldn't have been so blunt. The man didn't speak again.

Soon enough the man stopped. "That hatch," he said, pointing up. They looked. "Go through it. It opens into the upper part of the house. My child is there, but there will be trouble too. There is a computer and phone inside. I tried to get there but I was caught and brought down here then tortured."

"How long have you been here?" Felix asked him after translating to Cry.

The man thought a moment. "Months," he finally answered. "This man, he has a plan but I do not know what. I will go with you up there."

Felix translated to Cry. Cry frowned and looked at the guy. "No way, man, you go back to your wife. We'll take this," Cry replied seriously. "You're in worse condition than our friend _Aaron_ is. Possibly," Felix translated to the man.

The man shook head. "It's my son," he said. Felix translated to Cry.

Cry cringed, hesitating, then looked to Felix for direction. "He has a point," Felix said, shrugging. He wasn't happy with the idea, but given the baby was kind of this guy's child, yeah. He doubted the man would be deterred from helping them out… He couldn't say he wasn't glad for it. The man nodded then started up the ladder. He pushed open the hatch and disappeared. He beckoned for them to follow. They did so, though cautiously, and climbed up after him. After all, it might not be a good idea to trust. This could all be part of the setup; or the man could have been threatened into turning them over if the madman had his child.

No sooner had they climbed up through the hatch when they heard the crying baby. The man was across the room before they could blink. "Hey, wait up!" Felix called after him. They raced after him. He darted up the stairs. They followed. He was heading towards a bedroom. All at once they were there. The man threw open the door. The baby was lying on a bed, unclothed and kicking and screaming. The man sobbed and ran to the child, scooping it up and holding it close.

"We've got to get them out of here," Cry murmured to Felix.

"I know," Felix replied. He turned to the man. "Let's go. We don't have a lot of time."

YT

By some miracle or other—or by some plan of the maniac's—they made it back to the cell the woman was in. With them was the father and the baby. They were all running. Brutes were pursuing quickly. The woman was quick to open the cell door and let them in. She locked the door behind them the moment they were inside. The Brutes slammed into it and began shaking the bars. They couldn't enter, though, and so soon they retreated. Probably to ask their leader what to do about the situation. Needless to say, they couldn't be here very long without endangering the family more. They were most definitely being live streamed now too, they'd determined. "Mark and Aaron had better appreciate this," Cry said, panting for breath.

Felix immediately began speaking to the family in Swedish. The family was overjoyed to hear their native tongue again. They all too eagerly answered everything he was saying to them. That relief began to fade, though, when the conversation seemed to take on a much, much darker and more solemn tone… Finally the conversation stopped. "What did they say?" Cry asked Felix.

"They might or might not be meant to get out of this place, but _we_ certainly aren't," Felix answered. Cry shifted nervously, looking around the area. They had to go. Like now.


	13. Replicas: Five Nights at Freddy's

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Ugh, you'll probably be able to tell judging by this chapter that I am not as savvy as I could be on Five Nights at Freddy's, but here's hoping I did a semi-decent job at least.)

Replicas: Five Nights at Freddy's

They were thinking, trying to figure out an action plan. First priority was to get these people to safety. "Okay, if we can get you three to our car, you'll have a shot at getting away," Cry finally said to the family.

Felix translated to them then added to Cry, "Where will that leave _us_ is the thing, Cry. And Mark and Aaron. No way are we leaving until they're safe."

"Well if these two can get away, they can tell the police about this place and maybe lead them here," Cry muttered in an undertone, hoping the mikes didn't pick it up.

Felix translated to the family. "Point taken, but they might not be in _time_," Felix pointed out to Cry.

"True, but dammit, it's all we _have_, Felix," Cry said.

Felix sighed through the nose. "This is bad, bro," he said.

"Took you 'til now to figure that out?" Cry teased, smirking weakly.

Felix smirked worriedly back. "Come on, let's go," he said, patting his friend's shoulder and rising. "We're only gonna have one shot at this." Cry nodded. Felix turned to the family and asked in Swedish, "You ready to make a break for it?" They nodded in confirmation. The woman unlocked the cell and they threw it open. "Stay close!" Felix called to them.

"I'll take up the back!" Cry said to Felix, falling behind the family. Quickly they raced through the house back towards where they knew the trapdoor out to be.

YT

The group climbed quickly out of the house. Brutes and Grunts could be heard, now. "Oh boy this is going to be tight," Cry said. Felix nodded. Quickly they began running back to where they knew they'd left the car. "There it is!" Cry exclaimed, pointing the car out.

Felix pulled out the keys and tossed them to the man, who caught them. Quickly the man climbed in. His wife joined him with their baby. She looked worriedly back at Felix and Cry. "You need to come with us right now!" she exclaimed in Swedish.

"Our friends need our help. Just get back as soon as you can," Felix replied in the same language. "We'll be fine."

"No, you won't!" she exclaimed. "What if he has other places to take you?"

"Sucks to be us then," Felix replied. "Look, focus on getting yourself and your family to safety." She nodded, realizing they wouldn't change Felix and Cry's minds.

"Thank you," the man said to them.

"No problem," Felix replied. Lie. This whole scenario was a _big_ problem. The car started up and the family turned around, driving away. Felix and Cry watched longingly after it.

"We're going to regret this," Cry said.

"Let's get back to Freddy Fazzbear's Pizza," Felix replied worriedly. Cry nodded. Quickly they turned and started down the road towards the prop place.

YT

Mark and Aaron looked around the room they were in. The animatronics were everywhere! _Real_ ones! Literally designed like the animatronics at Five Nights at Freddy's. Chances they would be murderous animatronics? Slim to none. Chances the humans dressed as them for the 'action parts' would be? One-Hundred percent. Mark checked his watch. "It's almost closing time," he fearfully said.

"Let's go," Aaron said. "We need to get to the security room." Quickly they made their way to said security room and turned on the monitors. There was a flashlight there too, but odds were it wouldn't be very useful for long. At least they'd have it, though. The other was dead. "Is he trying to combine _both_ of the Five Nights at Freddy's games?" Aaron wondered.

"We'll figure it out," Mark replied, checking the power supply and grimacing. "We are so dead," he whimpered. Aaron said nothing. Part of him agreed with Mark. The other part wanted to be more optimistic. "I'll watch the left door, you watch the right. We can both watch the screens," Mark said.

"Right," Aaron agreed. "God this is terrifying."

"Putting it mildly," Mark replied. Just then closing time came. Immediately everything got dark. Mark and Aaron swallowed tightly. The phone rang.

YT

Mark and Aaron exchanged looks. Mark reached out, putting the phone on speaker. You could bet it wouldn't be phone guy they heard. It would probably be their captor speaking. Sure enough… "Well, you made it this far. I must say I'm impressed. I thought for sure one of you wasn't going to make it out of Vanish," their captor said.

"Yeah, well we did," Aaron replied.

"Yes, you stepped up, Yamimash," the man replied.

"I've stepped up before!" Aaron protested.

"Good news, boys. Two of your fellow YouTubers, PewDiePie and Cryaotic, are here," the man said.

"Oh my god they actually came! Are they _crazy_?!" Mark explained.

"Offended pride drives young men and boys to do stupid things," the man said.

"We have a chance _after_ all!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Don't count on it. For all you know, this was my plan," the man said. Aaron and Mark cringed worriedly. "Might want to check your cameras, boys. The Animatronics are on the move." Mark and Aaron paled, quickly turning to the monitors. Foxy and Chica were not where they were supposed to be!

"Lock the doors, Foxy is out!" Aaron freaked as they hung up on the man.

"Not until we have to. Limited power, remember?" Mark fearfully asked.

"Foxy's going to _kill_ us," Aaron whimpered.

"Aaron, lock your door!" Mark exclaimed in terror, spotting Foxy racing down the hallway. Aaron cried out in terror, pressing the button just as Foxy arrived. The door shut in the nick of time.

"Oh my god!" Aaron exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Mark exclaimed, diving for his own door. Aaron opened his again as Mark shut the other on Chica, who had appeared from practically nowhere, might he add. A moment later he opened the door as Aaron scanned the monitors.

"Freddy and Bonnie are on the move," Aaron said.

"Oh boy," Mark replied tensely.

"Mark, Mark, they're coming. Mark!" Aaron began panicking.

"Get a grip, Yami!" Mark shot. He turned. Bonnie was right there! "Oh f***ing f**k!" he screamed in terror, jamming the button to the door so it went down.

"Mark, Mark, we're going to die. Oh we're so going to die," Aaron tightly said. He cried out as Freddy arrived on scene. Quickly he locked down his side. "This hasn't even been an hour, man. We're going through power like crazy!"

"I-I think it might be going by the game's idea of an hour. I hope," Mark said. He was doubting, though.

"S**t this is bad," Aaron said, looking through the video cameras. "Mark, what if Balloon Boy, Girl, whatever, and the Puppet are here?!"

"I haven't seen them yet," Mark replied. Hopefully that was a _good_ sign, because he honestly didn't think they could deal with Balloon Boy and the Puppet.

YT

They were exhausted. And the power was low. They'd taken turns napping every so often, but after one incident in which they both almost got slaughtered by Foxy—they'd literally had to fight back together and get the surprised person in costume out before he killed them—they'd stopped alternating nap times and just decided to stay awake. "I'm so exhausted," Aaron murmured.

"Same," Mark mumbled back. "I don't know if we're ever getting out of here, Yami."

"We _can't_ give up now!" Aaron argued. "We're so close!"

"Didn't say we'd give up. Just said I doubted it would be enough," Mark replied. Aaron cringed. That wasn't very reassuring. At the same time, though, it was probably the most realistic outlook at this point in time.

"I want to sleep," Aaron murmured.

"Go ahead. I'll watch out for a bit," Mark replied. "I know we said we wouldn't, but you're injured." And honestly, if they were going to die he'd rather Aaron be asleep so he wouldn't know it was coming. Goodness knew the kid deserved _that_ respite at least.

Aaron tiredly nodded. His eyes were drifting shut. Just then a buzzer rang and the power gave out. His eyes flew open. "Goddammit!" he exclaimed. "The power!"

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Mark said over and over, rising quickly and looking at the cameras in panic. Of course nothing showed up. "F**k!" he exclaimed. He turned to Aaron in concern. Why couldn't this have happened when Aaron would be oblivious to it?

"I'm terrified," Aaron tightly said, eyes wide in fear and anxiety.

"Well so am _I_!" Mark replied. He looked over at Aaron and his eyes softened. "Hey, I'm right here," he reassured, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Not that he could do much to reassure his friend when he himself was near panic. Aaron looked fearfully over at him, but if nothing else he seemed a little calmer.

YT

"Felix, the power!" Cry exclaimed, noting the lights go off.

"They're dead if we don't get them out! Hurry Cry," Felix said.

The two threw open the doors and looked around. "Felix, the animatronics are gone!" Cry exclaimed.

"Animatronics don't kill. People do," Felix replied.

"Great!" Cry shouted in anger.

Just then they heard screaming. "Mark, Aaron!" Felix cried out. Immediately he and Cry raced towards the office.

"Help! Help us!" Mark's voice cried out.

Felix and Cry saw the office coming up and raced in. Blindly they leapt forward, tackling two of the people acting as animatronics. Freddy for Felix and Bonnie for Cry, respectively. "Felix, Cry!" Aaron exclaimed in relief, fighting back against Foxy as best as he could. Mark was busy dealing with Chica.

It wasn't long before the four young men had subdued the animatronic actors. Aaron pulled off the Foxy mask. He needed to know for sure if these were people. He inwardly sighed in relief. They were. A man glared murderously up at him. He swallowed and put the mask back on him. Somehow it was easier to see them as the animatronics instead of the people they were… He flashed back to the man he had killed and inwardly shuddered. It was easier to say he'd thought they were monsters and leave it at that.

"We have to go," Cry said to them.

"What, no greeting?" Mark teased.

"When we're safe we'll group hug," Felix replied with a smirk. Quickly the four boys—young men rather—turned and ran. The sound of Balloon Boy and the Puppet came to them. "Oh my god!" Felix exclaimed.

"Keep running!" Cry exclaimed as the four heard footsteps behind them. All at once they were out! Desperately they darted down the street far away from Freddy Fazbear's Pizza… And straight back into the woods…


	14. Aaron!

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Now for an emotional chapter. That unfortunately wasn't edited a lot so may not be as good as it could have been. These guys just can't get a break.)

Aaron!

The four young men walked silently through the forest. Not much was said between them. Mark and Aaron were still in the process of recovering and were still trying to catch up to the fact that people were actually here now. Of course it would be no easy task to get away, but maybe all together they'd have a better chance. "You guys are _crazy_!" Aaron finally blurted, unable to keep quiet anymore.

"Damn straight," Felix replied, smiling dryly.

"We're regretting it," Cry groaned.

"What horrors did you two have to go through?" Mark asked.

"Amnesia," Cry answered. Mark shuddered.

"Mark, we have to find the baby!" Aaron said.

"Don't worry about it, bros, we found it. And its parents. Who were prisoners in the Amnesia manor replica. And Swedish," Felix said. Immediately he and Cry narrated their little adventure in the place that had potentially been the main base.

YT

"At least that kid's safe with his parents," Mark said at the close of the story, sighing in relief.

"More than can be said for us," Cry more pessimistically answered, pointing out a brook up ahead that they could follow. "What are we supposed to do? Just try and stay alive?"

"And find a way out of this forest," Mark said as they began following said brook. "Or at least to a road."

"Where's Aaron?" Felix questioned, frowning and looking around.

They froze and turned, searching. "Aaron?!" Mark called, immediately concerned. "Yami!"

"Oh this isn't good," Cry said. "We need to…" he began.

Just then, though, Aaron came limping towards them, holding his leg. "Aaron, are you okay?" Mark questioned immediately, going to his friend and supporting Aaron back to the other two.

"I-I'm fine. Just-just tired is all. I need to rest, guys, my leg is killing me," he said.

"Definitely not good," Cry groaned.

Aaron undressed the wound, examining it. He felt his stomach dropping. "Oh god…" he moaned.

"It's infected," Felix said, alarmed. "He needs medical attention pronto, bros."

"We can't _get_ to any!" Mark replied in dismay.

"I can tough it out," Aaron said. As long as he didn't lose a leg in the end, he'd be all good… It was bleeding… and oozing puss a bit. Eww. He grimaced.

"I have hand sanitizer," Felix said, taking it out of a pocket. "Well, Marzia had it. Just forgot to give it back to her."

"It'll come in useful now," Cry said, taking it.

Mark tossed the dirty cloth and took out another. He wet it in the water and knelt by his friend, handing the wet cloth to him. "Wash it as well as you can," he said.

"On it," Aaron replied, taking the wet cloth and gently beginning to bathe the wound. Soon he had it as cleaned as it could be.

"Now the sanitizer," Felix said.

"Right," Cry replied, opening the bottle. He looked at Aaron. "Dude, this is going to sting. Bad," he warned. Aaron cringed. Great. Cry poured some of the sanitizer onto the bullet wound. Aaron cried out in pain at the massive stinging sensation on that bad of an infected injury. Quickly Mark bound it up with a cleaner cloth and tied it firmly.

"Tie something above the injury too to slow the blood loss," Felix said.

"Tourniquet. Good idea," Cry replied. He took off a belt he was wearing and fastened it above the bullet hole. "We've officially done all we can," he said. And Aaron was _still_ looking pale and dizzy, and he was _still_ losing blood.

"I'll be fine, guys," Aaron brushed off. It was obvious he was lying and in a lot of pain, though.

"We have to get out of here," Mark gravely said.

YT

They'd let Aaron rest as long as they could risk. Now they were on the move again. "Slenderman is probably still out here," Mark said.

"Oh boy, that's great," Cry sarcastically said, looking around.

"Maybe the clown from Hide and Seek too," Aaron pointed out.

"Oh god," Felix said, grimacing at the thought.

"He's probably dressed up as something else by now," Mark said.

Just then they heard a snarl and froze, blinking. The four looked around. "That was not a sound effect, bros," Felix said.

"I swear if he has attack dogs…" Cry began.

"That-is not-a dog," Mark numbly said, gazing ahead at something. The others turned and gasped. Coming out of the forest was a wolf!

"It-it looks-looks hungry guys," Aaron tightly said. There was no way they could outrun a wolf!"

"It looks like it's been starved!" Cry said in outrage. "Oh boy, if this wolf is that psycho's pet…"

"Then we're screwed!" Felix cried out in terror. The wolf began barking furiously and charged them!

"S**t!" Cry exclaimed. Quickly they ran to a tree and leapt up for the branches, starting to climb up into it. Aaron cried out, putting too much weight on the injured leg, and lost his grip and balance, falling back. "Aaron!" Felix exclaimed, catching the other's wrist and stopping him from falling.

"Oh god!" Aaron exclaimed as the wolf began jumping to try and get him. Quickly Mark and Cry helped Felix haul him up into the tree. They heard footsteps and voices. The wolf turned its head and whimpered. It headed back towards the voices. "This guy is crazy!" Aaron exclaimed.

"A truly disturbing number of people have wolves or wolf-dogs as pets," Cry dryly pointed out.

"They're wild animals!" Aaron protested.

"Try telling the _owners_ that," Mark replied. "But I guess technically the wolf-dogs aren't really wild, they just have more wild _in_ them. Full blooded wolf is pretty… extreme, though."

"That thing is going to lead them _back_ to us," Felix said. "We need to move."

YT

Quickly the four young men climbed out of the tree and began hurrying through the woods. They heard the barking and snarling again. "It's tracking us!" Aaron exclaimed. "What horror game is _this_?"

"One of the ones we've played with a werewolf as the enemy," Mark replied. He was too busy running to remember names. Aaron blinked and almost face-palmed. Of course! Why hadn't _he_ thought of that?

Felix and Cry stayed in the lead, trying to pick out the easiest most efficient path. "We are so dead, bros," Felix said.

"Look, over there!" Cry exclaimed, pointing out a path that went up a steep hill. "It might not be the easiest path there is, but it'll slow them down."

"Not the wolf, though!" Mark argued.

"We can deal with the wolf! It's the _people_ I'm worried about," Cry replied.

"Come on, Mark, I'll help you carry Aaron up the path," Felix said.

"Did you know yami in Japanese means darkness?" Aaron asked dryly, trying to distract himself from the gravity of the situation.

"As in what we'll be seeing if they catch us? Yeah," Cry replied. Mark lifted Aaron by the shoulders while Felix lifted by the legs. Quickly they started up the steep path. When they got onto relatively flat ground they could put Aaron down, but not before.

YT

They got to the top of the steep part. Aaron was placed back down. He grimaced in pain. His leg was throbbing. He looked over the edge of the path and squeaked in fear, hugging the cliff immediately. "Oh god," he said.

"Scared of heights?" Felix asked.

"No, not really. More scared of falling," Aaron replied.

"Ditto," Mark agreed, grimacing at the drop.

"Let's go, people!" Cry insisted. Felix went first followed by Mark then Aaron then Cry. The path was pretty narrow, but if they stayed in single file they should be fine. They could hear voices nearing. They were definitely being caught up to. They looked down the hill and spotted the wolf leading a group of men and women dressed—or rather not dressed—as the enemies in _The Forest_ along after them!

"We must be getting close to escaping!" Aaron hopefully said. Especially if they were all converging now!

"Or maybe this is just supposed to lead up to the grand finale," Mark dryly replied. "I'm banking something to do with Amnesia."

"Easiest and least fantastical one to replicate," Cry agreed. "That game practically set the _bar_ for horror gaming without relying on an unbelievable setting."

YT

The path soon started to widen out. Now one side was forest and one said was cliff. At least they could break for the forest if something blocked the path without worrying about having to climb anymore. They began to break out into a full run. All of a sudden figures leapt from the woods with battle cries.

"The mutants from 'The Forest'!" Mark exclaimed in terror as they slid to a stop. The 'mutants' charged them, immediately driving the four young men to separate from one another. Dammit! "Cry, Mark, Aaron!" Felix called out.

"Over here, Felix!" Mark's voice called. In moment Mark had slipped back to his side and they began to run. "Aaron, Cry!" Mark called.

"Mark, Felix, help me!" Aaron desperately shouted.

"S**t! Yami!" Mark called, looking around.

"I don't see _either_ of them!" Felix exclaimed. "Wait. The voices are getting farther! Cry!"

"Felix, Mark!" Cry called out in fear. He was too distant.

"Go back!" Felix exclaimed. They turned to do so only to be attacked by about five of the 'mutants' from the Forest. "Goddammit! Help!"

YT

Cry and Aaron, who had regrouped, heard the voices. They were so far away. "They're herding us apart!" Cry exclaimed.

"Not like we have a f***ing _choice_!" Aaron replied. "Guys! Guys, where are you?!" Quickly they turned, running from the group of people chasing them. "Guy…" he began. He suddenly cried out as all at once the wolf sprang from the forest, tackling him. "Help!" he screamed, immediately blocking his throat. The wolf sank its teeth into his arms. Aaron screamed in pain!

"Dammit! Aaron!" Cry exclaimed, racing back and viciously kicking the wolf in the side. It yelped, but dug its teeth deeper.

"Cry!" Aaron begged.

Cry grabbed a stick and struck the wolf's back. It yelped, letting to, and leapt at Cry with a vicious snarl. Oh this was bad! He cried out, putting the stick up. The wolf tackled him down, but was the stick was blocking its access to any part of Cry's body. Aaron staggered up and shoved it off. Quickly he began throwing rocks at the animal. Cry staggered up and joined him making loud noises and waving the stick. The wolf backed away. It tried to lunge but a rock hit its head and it backed off again, ears flat against its head and hackles raised as it snarled in ways that almost sounded more like roars.

"Get back!" Cry furiously yelled at it, swinging. It began backing away then finally barked once more. It turned and quickly ran back into the woods. Cry and Aaron sighed in relief. Mistake. All at once it was back, tackling Aaron from the side again. Aaron cried out. Wait. The ledge! He screamed as he toppled over it, the wolf holding him fast. "Aaron!" Cry called, diving for the edge to try and catch his acquaintance's hand. Too late. He watched, feeling his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, as Aaron fell and hit the ground hard, the wolf on top of him. Aaron lay still. The wolf began trying to finish him. Cry grabbed a stone and hurled it at the animal. The wolf yelped and quickly limped back away from Aaron. It looked up at Cry quietly then back at Aaron. It whimpered slightly, limping, and backed away from Aaron as Cry threw another rock and began coming down the hill. The wolf limped away quickly, disappearing into the woods. Cry had no idea where the 'mutants' had gone, but he honestly didn't care right now. He had to get to Aaron!

YT

Cry reached the bottom of the cliff and ran towards the other. He slid to a stop next to him, pale. "Aaron? Aaron, come on man, wake up!" he begged. Aaron didn't move. "S**t!" Cry exclaimed. He quickly checked Aaron's injuries. God f***ing dammit, he was bleeding _horribly_! The bullet wound was wide open again, and now his arms were basically a mess of teeth and scratch marks that were soaking his acquaintance—or at this point fire-forged friend rather—in blood. "Aaron!" he called out. He didn't dare try to move him for fear Aaron may have broken his back and would be paralyzed if he did.

Aaron's eyes flickered dazedly open. He blinked. "My body hurts," he moaned.

Cry sighed in relief and swallowed, nodding. "You took a bad tumble," he replied.

Aaron was quiet and pale, having noticed the shape that he was in. "That… what…" he began numbly. He began shivering. "How bad is it?" he finally asked.

Cry closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and grimacing. He inhaled deeply, covering his mouth. How to put this? "It's bad," he soon replied. That was all he could say. "It's really bad…" At least appearance wise. He couldn't really know until he got it all cleaned up, and even then only a doctor would probably be able to tell. "Look, hang in there, I'll get you cleaned up as best I can and we can find Mark and Aaron. It's… it's going to be okay…"

YT

Aaron was quiet. And numb. At this point… "I'm dead," he numbly said.

"If you were dead, you wouldn't be talking," Cry replied, quickly going to the nearby brook, removing his coat, and soaking it in the water. He returned to Aaron and began trying to wipe away the blood.

"No, no, stop," Aaron said, shaking his head and closing his eyes, swallowing. "I'm a gonner, dude… I can't-I can't _do_ this anymore…"

"Yes you can," Cry insisted, eyes narrowing in determination. "You just have to hang on. Keep fighting, Aaron, keep fighting. We're going to find Mark and Felix, we're going to get out of here, and it's all going to be okay. There's no other way this ends." He noticed, though, that Aaron was pale. Blood loss or shock, he realized. _Dammit_! "Don't you _dare_ give in!" he sharply ordered.

"I feel tired…" Aaron replied, weakly flickering his eyes open. Cry felt a shiver run up and down his spine. Aaron was… he was _dying_! "Oh f***ing s**t!" Cry exclaimed. He let loose with a string of curses afterwards best not repeated, quickly and desperately working to clean away the blood and wrap the injuries. Aaron watched through glazed eyes. "I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"Don't talk!" Cry shot. "Don't even go there!"

"You-you have to go, dude. Hurry. They're coming," Aaron said. Sure enough voices were nearing. And the voices weren't Mark's or Felix's.

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Cry shot. Aaron was going limp, though, and his eyes were closed. Cry paled. "Aaron?" he asked. Aaron didn't reply. "Aaron!" Cry exclaimed as the body went limp in his arms. "No, no, no, this isn't happening. Aaron! Aaron, wake up! Aaron!" he begged, shaking the other. No response. He was so pale… "Aaron, please!" Cry begged. He couldn't be watching this! His friend was seriously dying in his _arms_! Quickly he searched for a pulse and felt sick. He couldn't find one! Aaron wasn't breathing anymore. Quickly he began CPR. There was no response. "Come on. Come on Aaron…" Cry whispered, feeling a burning in his eyes. For a moment he thought he felt a pulse again, but then… then he couldn't find anything… He placed a hand on Aaron's forehead, brushing some hair out of his face. He shook his head in denial and sobbed, covering his mouth and resting his forehead on Aaron's chest for a moment. Quickly he began to try again. There was _no_ way this was playing out like _Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons_! "Come on, come on, come on! Aaron, wake up!" he begged, desperately carrying out CPR again.

"Down there!" a voice called. Cry looked up, eyes wide. The men and women disguised as mutants! There was no more time. Cry staggered to his feet. He tried to move Aaron, but the mutants were coming. He sobbed, gently laying the other down. No pulse, no breathing… Not that he had time to check again anymore… He was gone… "I'm so, so sorry…" he whispered painfully to the body. Quickly he ran into the woods just as the mutants came down the hill with intent to attack.

YT

Mark and Felix were silent, tears in their eyes as they covered their mouths. "They got away. They had to…" Mark finally murmured, stunned.

Felix was quiet. He glanced up. "Of course they did. It's Cry and Aaron," he said.

"But why can't we find them?!" Mark demanded, shooting to his feet and pacing.

Felix watched then sighed, rising. He put his hands firmly on Mark's shoulders. "Get a grip!" he shot. Mark blinked in surprise. "_They'll_ find _us_," Felix assured.

Sure enough. "Felix?! Mark?!" Cry's voice called. The two gasped, looking over.

"Cry! Over her Cry!" Felix called.

"Aaron?!" Mark called out. No reply. Why was there no reply?!

Cry suddenly staggered through the bush, scratched up and pretty battered, but surprisingly not the worse for wear. "Cry!" Felix exclaimed, running to him and grabbing his friend in a bear hug. Cry hugged tightly, almost desperately, back, and Felix realized something was very wrong. He pulled back and noticed tears in the other's eyes. A chill ran through him. He blinked. "What happened?" he seriously questioned. Cry felt his mouth quiver and quickly looked away, closing his eyes. "Cry, what the f**k happened?!" Felix urgently demanded.

Mark, however, already had an idea. He was pale and looked sick. "Cry, where… where's Yami…?"

Cry sniffed, trying to get a grip, and looked over at Mark who had joined Felix. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. Soon he just shut his mouth and shook his head, looking down. "Oh god…" Felix breathed.

"Cry, where's Aaron?!" Mark sharply shot, roughly seizing the other's shoulders and pushing him against a tree. "What happened to Aaron?!"

Cry watched him quietly. Soon, though, he replied, "He didn't make it…" Mark felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

"Didn't… didn't make it…?" he repeated numbly. "Didn't _make_ it?!" he yelled, grip tightening so that Cry winced.

Felix quickly pulled Mark away from Cry and looked at his friend. "What happened?" he quietly asked, eyes sympathetic and reassuring.

"We… we were running and then the wolf attacked and we managed to fight it off, but then it attacked again and knocked Aaron over… over the cliff… It tried to maul him, but I managed to drive it off except… Except when I got down there it was too late… The bullet wound… It had opened again and was bleeding all over the place, and his arms… They were so bloody… And then he passed out and I couldn't find a pulse and he wasn't breathing, so I tried CPR but he didn't respond… And then the mutants came down the hill and I ran… I tried to bring him with me, but I couldn't, and… And he was gone…" Mark blinked. All at once he broke down into tears. Felix shook his head in denial, closing his eyes and swallowing tightly, willing away tears. "I'm sorry…" Cry whispered.

"It wasn't your fault," Felix assured quietly, turning worriedly to the sobbing Mark. "We should rest and… Oh god…" Numbly he sat, leaning against a tree. "He's not gone. No way! We have to go back for him! We… we have to…" Neither Cry nor Mark replied, Mark weeping and Cry still trying to process what he had just watched happen. Felix swallowed. He hated being alone in this… He hated being the only one who believed it wasn't true…


	15. Role Play

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Didn't necessarily pick the roles dependent on their personalities-say for one's-or whose look would fit what role. The madman would have, but they decided before he came back so I made it how I think they might have tried to divvy it up if this were happening IRL. Do let me know who you think should have gone to what role, though. I'm curious.)

Role Play

The three trudged along in silence. No one spoke. No one had the heart to. Cry had brought them back to the place where Aaron had lain. There had been nothing there. Just a pool of blood that was drying on the ground. With nothing to bring back, they'd just decided to continue on. They looked up, now. Up ahead was the edges of the property. They were almost out… They'd been so close… Mark stopped, anguish tearing through him. He shook his head and sobbed, covering his mouth with a hand. He took a deep breath to compose himself. No mourning now. There was no time for mourning. They had to get out. They… they had to get out… They reached the fence.

"He could have made it…" Mark said, voice breaking. "He could have made it…"

Cry was quiet. He'd hardly looked up from the ground once since. Felix looked up at the fence. "I know, Mark… This'll be over soon. Come on, bros, let's go," he said. He reached out, grabbing the fence, then screamed in pain as a charge went through him.

"Felix!" Cry exclaimed. Felix let go of the fence and Cry seized him, pulling him away from it. Felix gasped in pain and shakily sat up. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I'm fine," Felix gasped, looking at his fingers. "Dammit!"

"We need to follow it. There's a way out _somewhere_ along it," Mark stated.

"I swear to god I'm never letting Marzia go again when I get home," Felix said.

"I miss Cheyanne…" Cry murmured.

"Oh god, what am I supposed to tell his parents and his friends and Jess?" Mark murmured weakly. Felix and Cry gave sympathetic looks to Mark.

"If you want, we can be there," Felix offered.

"You guys shouldn't have to," Mark replied.

"But we will anyway," Cry answered, starting to follow the fence. Felix and Mark went after him.

YT

They rounded a corner and Cry screamed in horror. Mark and Felix looked sharply ahead. The wolf was hanging from a tree dead! "Oh god!" Felix exclaimed, covering his mouth. The poor thing!

"S**t…" Mark said, stunned. It had been so beautiful… You know, he'd honestly thought he'd be happy to see the wolf dead, for it had contributed to Aaron's death. But to see it now… Aaron would never want to see this, he knew. Besides, it felt… wrong to leave it… Quickly he went to it and took out the knife Aaron had brought from Phobia. He felt a tightening in his throat but ignored it. He cut the animal down and caught it, gently lowering it to the ground.

"Such a soft touch," a voice suddenly said. Quickly the three looked up with gasps. There was the cab driver—or whatever he was—with an entourage behind him! "Oh f***ing hell!" Felix exclaimed, backing away. Slenderman was suddenly there behind them along with a couple of the SCPs.

"S**t!" Cry exclaimed.

"Get them," the cab driver said. The forest was soon filled with the sounds of a very short battle, and then there was silence…

YT

Aaron's eyes began to flicker open. Ugh, was he dead yet? He squinted and caught his breath. Looking down on him was the cab driver! "It took a lot to bring you back, Yamimash, but you weren't all that far gone. Cryaotic had managed to get your pulse back. Pity he didn't have time to properly check your vitals again before we drove him off. He ran, we got you breathing, your body did the rest."

"Oh god, why can't I just _die_?!" Aaron exclaimed. How was it even possible to survive this many attempts on his life? Wait… Unless the man _wanted_ him alive… His eyes lit up in realization. He sat bolt upright. "What do you want from us?!" he shouted. "Where are my friends?!"

"Your 'friends' left you for dead and decided to save _themselves_," the man replied.

Aaron was quiet. "I thought _I_ was dead _too_!" he finally blurted after getting over the shock. "They would have stayed if they'd known!"

"No, I don't think they would have," the man replied.

"What do you want from me?" Aaron demanded.

"The original plan was to have you and your friends run this little death game until you were killed. Then I would move onto another YouTuber, and another, and another, sometimes in pairs, and see how they all fared, study how they reacted to a real life horror and how great they truly were," the man said.

"And… and now…?" Aaron asked.

"I'm short a few actors for a few roles. Once those positions are filled, I will move on with the original plan. The actors, of course, will survive, the rest not so much," the man answered.

"R-ro-rolls?" Aaron tightly asked.

"Yes. Rolls," the man replied.

"Who are you?" Aaron asked.

"Just a fan," the man answered. "Not really a cab driver. Just a wealthy eccentric with not much to do to occupy his time until recently."

Screw riches if it made you into _this_, Aaron dryly told himself. "What rolls are you looking to fill?" Aaron questioned.

"You'll see," the man said.

YT

The man rose and went to a liquor cabinet. Aaron examined himself. He had been patched up. This time actually _properly_ attended to too, which implied _someone_ had medical experience in this following. He was never trusting doctors or nurses again. "You are like the Justine of the YouTube world, aren't you?" the man said, smirking.

"Justine?" Aaron asked.

"Amnesia," the man clarified.

Aaron blinked and swallowed. "How so?" he asked.

"Mark, D-Live, Bob, Wade, already you have more 'suitors' than she did," the man replied.

"That's all pretend!" Aaron exclaimed. "This isn't real, man, it's-not-_real_! You've lost your mind!"

"Shut up!" the man barked. Aaron bit his tongue. "Unfortunately I only need three suitors, and seeing as you're not a woman you couldn't fit the roll of Justine. But I have other options for that. So I'm afraid you must go," the man continued. "A pity, spent a lot of time fixing you. I tried to find a roll, Yamimash, I did, but unfortunately there were none." He drew a gun.

Aaron's eyes widened in horror. "Daniel!" he exclaimed. "I'll be Daniel! You know, from the origial? I'll be-I'll be Daniel."

"Daniel?" the man asked.

"Of course. I mean we're both British, we're both pretty young and naive, we are both terrified out of our heads," Aaron said. "I mean come on, man! It's a perfect match. Plus I know Amnesia. Well. I can pass as Daniel."

The man was quiet. "And your friends… They will be Justine's suitors…" the man mused aloud. "Unfortunately, I have no Justine…"

"But you have a Daniel. Daniel tortured innocents, I can torture innocents. They left me to die, after all. Not too happy about that," Aaron said.

"Yes, set up the game before selecting a Justine…" the man mused.

"Exactly. And-and you can be Alexander of Brennenberg and… and someone can be Agrippa! From a distance, that is. For now," Aaron desperately said.

"Agrippa? Who would be Agrippa?" the man asked.

"Uh…" Aaron stammered. He looked around. "Jacksepticeye! You know, Sean, the Irish gamer," he said, saying the first name that came to his head. Given there was a picture of him nearby, no wonder it had. "I mean I can contact him via phone or-or you can contact him via computer until you lure him here, but in the meantime phone and computer can work." As Aaron figured it, if he could play this up like he was excited about this game and get a link to the outside world in Sean, they'd stand something of a chance! "Jacksepticeye will be the perfect one to fill the roll," he finished.

The man was silent. "Hmm… Very well… You've convinced me, Daniel," he said, smirking at Aaron. Aaron nodded. "Now, rest up. I need to prepare your friends for their rolls. I hope you can torture them as well as Justine tortured her suitors."

Oh you are trapped in one hell of a warped reality, you son of a b**ch, Aaron inwardly said to himself. He nodded, though, biting his tongue. If he was going to pull this treachery off, he had to pull it off well. And if there was one thing Aaron Ash could do, it was betray. In TTT and Murder, when he got serious about it, he could pull off murders and treacheries damn well. Damn, _damn_ well. He could go from butt monkey to magnificent bastard in the blink of an eye… Now he would need to do it again. In reality there were no second chances, so if he was going to do this, he would _really_ need to do it.

YT

Mark, Felix, and Cry were locked in a cell, heads bowed and hands balled. They were going to die… There was a tapping at the bars. They weakly looked up. The man was there. "I have three rolls for you to fill, boys. You get this one chance to choose your parts," he said.

"Rolls?" Cry asked.

"I'm short some actors. You three made the cut," he replied.

"You sick _bastard_!" Mark shot.

"The rolls: Alois Racine, Malo de Vigny, and Basile Giroux. Pick who you'll be. You have ten minutes. If it isn't decided by then, I'll pick myself. And you won't like it. In the meantime I must find someone to fill the roll of Justine," the man said.

"You crazy son of a b**ch!" Felix furiously shot.

"Perhaps Marzia would work," the man mused aloud. Felix stiffened and blinked. Had he just… All at once Felix lunged at the bars. "You're dead! You hear me, dead! If you touch her, I swear to god, I'll…" Mark clamped a hand over Felix's mouth and him and Cry pulled Felix back. Felix glared murderously at the laughing man. He walked away, leaving the three alone.

"We're going to get out of this," Cry said to Felix as Mark uncovered Felix's mouth.

They were quiet. Felix was visibly upset. After a long time Mark said, "So, we have rolls to fill… That's his plan for us…"

Felix was quiet. "Who… who was tortured worst…?" Felix uncertainly asked.

"It never specified," Cry replied. "Implied Malo was given he was, you know, tortured to total insanity and cannibalism."

"Then _I'll_ take M…" Felix began.

"I'll be Malo!" Cry immediately interrupted. There was _no_ way he was letting his friend take this for him! No!

"Cry, don't mess with me," Felix warned. "You aren't being…"

"Yes, Felix, yes I am. I can take pain. Taken it for a long time," Cry muttered.

"I'm not going to let you take it anymore then! You're being Alois, that's final!" Felix shot.

"I'll be…" Cry began.

"No Cry!" Felix sharply shot. "Just trust me, okay? I've got this… This time someone else had got this…" Cry was silent, a touched look in his eyes. After a moment he nodded, relenting.

"You be Alois. I'll be Basile," Mark said to Cry, agreeing with Felix. "It's settled. There's nothing else that can be done…"

They were quiet again. "He's going to torture us the same way, isn't he?" Cry asked.

"Not me, boys… But Daniel will," the man said, having returned. Sharply the three looked up at him, eyes wide and uncertain. "I know it should be Justine, but until I can get whoever will fill that roll here—perhaps Cheyanne rather than Marzia, or maybe LDShadowLady or Minx—I'm afraid we'll have to make do… Daniel will be down eventually, men. Maybe as early as tonight or tomorrow night. Enjoy your new rolls Alois, Basile, Malo."

"Basile stayed sane!" Mark shot sharply. And damn was that suitor angry in the game and so was he so yeah, that would work fine.

"Not _this_ Basile," the man replied, smirking. "In fact, by the end of it _you_ might end up being Malo _after_ all."

"What do you…" Mark began.

"Let's just say this will be very, very, very personal for you," the man answered, turning and walking away. Mark watched after him numbly then exchanged worried looks with Felix and Cry.

"Methinks it's going to be best to play along with his delusion for now. Maybe we can find a way out of this if we bide our time a bit more," Cry said.

"Agreed," Mark replied.

"Same," Felix answered, nodding. They _would_ get out of this… Somehow…


	16. Taunting, Priming, and Planning

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Sorry for the wait. Had exams to study for, have a course I'm struggling to catch up on, so I really don't have a lot of time for writing at the moment. However, I'm getting back into it slowly. I won't guarantee the next chapter will be up soon, but I'm trying. For now, though, there's this one. Enjoy. I fail at mimicking Irish accents, so bear with me. Yes, introducing Jacksepticeye. Sadly I'll probably fail at getting his character down very well, and for that I apologize.)

Taunting, Priming, and Planning

Aaron looked at the instructions he held in horror. This guy wasn't playing around! He seriously expected him to torture the other guys into insanity! He looked at the smartphone he held. The madman, at least, had allowed him to 'employ' Sean into this scheme. That would be good, to have an outside connection. His thoughts were whirling around at a mile a minute as he frantically tried to determine how to go about doing this and getting them all out alive with as little bloodshed as possible. This guy was delusional. Maybe if he… maybe a challenge? He just didn't know anymore. Ugh, he'd figure it out somehow. The madman had sent Jacksepticeye a message. Sean probably wouldn't answer it, would probably think it was a joke. Well, he wouldn't anymore.

Aaron quickly dialled the number the madman had supplied—how the f**k had the madman known Sean's number? Ugh, who was he kidding, the guy was stalker to the max—and waited for Sean to pick up. "Hello?" Sean's voice asked.

"Sean, it's Aaron, err, Yamimash," Aaron said. They really didn't know each other that well. They really should do a collab some time. Screw whatever the hell people thought their reasons for not collabing yet were; why should any of _that_ stand in the way?

"Oh my god, Aaron!" Sean exclaimed in shock. "But weren't ya…"

"It's a long story," Aaron interrupted. "Look man, we need your help. Big time. What do you say you and I start a little plotting? Kind of can't rely on the other guys at the moment. They're kind of sort of, well, trapped. In dungeons." Probably stripped by now too. This madman was going for authenticity, and if he wanted the others to play the roles of the suitors, well, you know how the suitors were dressed. Namely in their birthday suits. "This is going to take a while to explain," Aaron dryly added.

YT

"What would the fan name for all four of us be?" Felix mused as the three lay on benches in the prison cell. Not like they had anything else to do. Pretty soon they'd be stripped and separated, they knew.

"PewdieCryYamiplier," Cry promptly answered.

"Have you seriously been thinking about it?" Mark asked, weakly smirking. It didn't help to make him feel any happier. He was still trying to understand that Aaron was gone.

"What else is there to do? We've tried everything. Nothing left for us to attempt except sitting and hoping someone rescues us." Cry replied. Just then they heard footsteps and quickly sat up, on guard. The eccentric appeared, then, holding three papers.

"Here are your scripts, boys. Best you remember the suitor quotes," he said, tossing them in. Mark, Cry, and Felix each picked one up, reading them over.

"I want you?" Cry asked, grimacing as he read Malo's lines. "Justine, let me… oh god. Let me _taste_ you?!"

"I will find you. I will kill you, you c**t…" Felix said. "Well isn't _that_ pleasant," he deadpanned. "I'll rip your _head_ off?!" Wow Basile…

"Somebody needs anger management," Mark remarked about Basile, looking his over his own character lines. "Don't leave again? You know, that probably shouldn't be chilling me as much as it is. Hush now, it's alright? Okay, Alois did _not_ seem this haunting and creepy when I did the full play through."

"Living it is so much better," the madman purred.

"Screw you," Felix replied to the man.

"Enjoy, men," the eccentric said. With that he left.

YT

"_My name is Daniel. I live at Mayfair. My name… my name is Daniel," Aaron said to the man who was testing him on his lines._

"_Good enough," the man replied. "Have fun finding the torture room and the Choir, Daniel," he said, smirking. The next second there was darkness as Aaron was knocked out._

Now Aaron found himself staggering through an exact replica, head throbbing. He grimaced, feeling it, and brought his fingers away. It was bleeding, the place he'd been struck, but that wasn't exactly alarming him. Right now his focus was on getting out of here and hoping things went according to the plan he and Sean had concocted. The moment this madman got in contact with Jacksepticeye, he'd get quite a surprise indeed. And hopefully he was crazy enough to actually go with it and honestly stick to the bargain. If the man's view of reality was this warped, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility.

Aaron had covered a lot of ground so far. He was quite proud of himself. In fact he had made it to the grand hall where the creepy fountain was and the statue of an angel. He sat in front of the fountain and breathed a sigh. He couldn't count the number of times he'd nearly been slaughtered by grunts of brutes or what not so far. Thankfully he'd been able to more or less remember the layout of Amnesia and what he'd had to do. He opened his eyes, looking around. It was so peaceful here. Maybe he should just curl up in this place and die. No, he had to get to the guys. Plus he and Jack had a plan in place now, so things should work out… He hoped…

The voice came over the speakers. "You've done surprisingly well, Yamimash. We'll pause it here for the time being. You have torturing to carry out. In five minutes I will come as Alexander, and we will play out some of Daniel's flashbacks. Namely the torture ones.

"Honestly, man, I think Alexander was probably a far nicer guy than you are," Aaron replied.

"Cute, Yamimash, cute," the man answered, chuckling darkly. The speaker went off.

"F**k you, man," Aaron whimpered. He pulled out the cell and looked at it. Quickly he called a number.

"Aaron?" Sean's voice asked.

"We need to move man, now. We're running short on time," Aaron said.

"Way ahead of ya. I've contacted him and put out a challenge. He said he'd lead you to the torture chambers and then we could talk while you familiarized yourself with the techniques Justine would have used on her suitors or something of the sort. I'll be able to buy ya a good length of time to get them free and out of there, and by then I will have won the challenge," Sean said.

"That is considering you do win and considering he holds up his end," Aaron replied.

"The police will be on their way," Sean answered. "They'll be followin' a trace on my computer as well as that family you say you released. Trust me. I'll handle this like a boss!"

"I have no doubts you will," Aaron replied, smirking. "Watch yourself, man. This guy isn't fooling around."

"I'm on it!" Sean energetically replied. "We have totally got this game in the bag."

"Thank god!" Aaron said in relief. "Uh oh, 'Alexander's' coming. Got to go man. Good luck."

"Pssh, I won't need it," Sean said, smirking. "Watch your back, Aaron."

"Right," Aaron agreed, hanging up and slipping the phone away. Alexander was walking up the stairs, he heard. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back so his face was towards the roof. Soon they'd be out. Soon they'd be out… Damn this was soothing…

"Come, Daniel," the madman said. Aaron looked wearily down at him. He blinked then stood up.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"The choir," the eccentric answered.

YT

They were in the Choir now. Damn it was creepy as f**k, Aaron wryly noted. They were heading towards the torture rooms. The man soon stopped as they entered one filled with… Aaron didn't even want to think of it. He handed him some papers. "Read these notes. They will be your instructions on how to torture Markiplier, PewDiePie, and Cryaotic until they break and mold into Alois, Basile, and Malo." Aaron glanced through the instructions and felt queasy. This was so disgusting. "What is that chant I taught you, Daniel?" the madman asked.

"Um, paint the man, cut the lines, watch him bleed," Aaron numbly replied.

"Good lad," the madman said. "I'll set them up for you and then I have things to do. You know where the dungeons are. Have fun. When I come back up, you'll know to go down." With that he turned and left, and soon Aaron was alone. F**k this. He looked at a painting of Daniel and blinked at him.

"You know, I think I'm starting to understand you a lot better as a character now," he said to it. He was starting to get a sense of the character's thoughts, his motives, his fears in the game, etc. "I swear to god, guys, if I see any hate comments towards Daniel in my videos, I will freak out. Well, let's get this little play underway now, shall we?" Aaron said to the cameras undoubtedly recording all of this. It did help to treat this like a 'Let's Play'. At least a bit. It was Sean's bit now. Distraction mode activate, Yami dryly said to himself. Well, not his distraction mode, but Jacksepticeye's.

YT

The eccentric went down the stairs carting a laptop. He went towards the dungeon where Mark, Felix, and Cry were being held. He reached it, smirking coldly. The three young men looked up at him coldly. "Do you remember watching him die, Cryaotic?" the man coldly asked.

Cry tensed, eyes filling with pain for a moment before he quickly hid it. "You bastard," he coldly replied.

"Do you remember how much he was bleeding? How much pain was in his eyes?" the man questioned.

"Shut the f**k up!" Cry snapped sharply.

"Don't play into it, Cry," Felix warned. Cry looked at Felix then back at the man. He nodded in agreement.

"Mark, I have something to show you," the man said. Mark said nothing, not even looking at the man. "Are you afraid to see?" the man asked. Mark stayed quiet. The man pulled something up on the computer and played it.

"_Guys! Guys, where are you?!" Yami's voice called out._

Mark sharply looked over, as did Felix. Cry remained looking at the ground.

"_Guy…" Aaron began. He suddenly cried out as all at once the wolf sprang from the forest, tackling hm. "Help!" he screamed, immediately blocking his throat. The wolf sank its teeth into his arms. Aaron screamed in pain!_

Mark gasped, standing. "Aaron…" he said.

"_Dammit, Aaron!"_ _Cry exclaimed, racing back and viciously kicking the wolf in the side. It yelped, but dug its teeth deeper._

"_Cry!" Aaron begged._

Cry closed his eyes tightly and swallowed. "We get it, okay? Shut it off!" Felix demanded. He didn't like how this was affecting his friend. Mark had drawn nearer the computer and was gazing at it in pain. They watched the battle with the wolf. They watched Cry and Aaron drive it off. Then Cry and Aaron sighed in relief and then…

_All at once it was back, tackling Aaron from the side again. Aaron cried out, stumbling back towards a ledge. He screamed as he toppled over it, the wolf holding him fast. "Aaron!" Cry cried out, diving for the edge to try and catch his friend's hand. Too late._ _Aaron hit the ground hard, the wolf on top of him. Aaron lay still as the wolf mauled him. Cry grabbed a stone and hurled it at the animal. The wolf yelped and quickly limped back away from Aaron. It looked up at Cry quietly then back at Aaron. It whimpered slightly, limping, and backed away from Aaron as Cry threw another rock and began coming down the hill. The wolf limped away quickly, disappearing into the woods._

_Then Cry was running towards Aaron, and he slid to a stop next to their friend, pale. "Aaron? Aaron, come on man, wake up!" he begged. Aaron didn't move. "S**t!" Cry exclaimed. He quickly checked Aaron's injuries._ _He was bleeding horribly! The bullet wound was wide open again, and now his arms were basically a mess of teeth and scratch marks that were soaking Aaron in blood._

"Oh my god. Oh my god, Yami!" Mark exclaimed with a sob, mortified and unable to believe he was actually seeing this. He shook his head in denial. This wasn't real. This wasn't real.

"_Aaron!" Cry called out._

_Aaron's eyes flickered dazedly open. He blinked. "My body hurts," he moaned._

_Cry sighed in relief and swallowed, nodding. "You took a bad tumble," he replied._

_Aaron was quiet and pale. "That… what…" he began numbly. He began shivering. "How bad is it?" he asked._

_Cry closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and grimacing. He inhaled deeply, covering his mouth. "It's bad," he soon replied. "It's really bad… Look, hang in there, I'll get you cleaned up as best I can and we can find Mark and Aaron. It's… it's going to be okay…"_

_Aaron was quiet. "I'm dead," he numbly said._

"No, no, no," Mark moaned, holding his head in his hands and shaking his head in denial.

"You son of a bitch!" Felix viciously shot at the man, feeling suddenly protective of Mark and Cry. The man said nothing.

"_If you were dead, you wouldn't be talking," Cry replied, quickly going to the nearby brook, removing his coat, and soaking it in the water. He returned to Aaron and began trying to wipe away the blood._

"_No, no, stop," Aaron said, shaking his head and closing his eyes, swallowing. "I'm a gonner, dude… I can't-I can't do this anymore…"_

"_Yes you can," Cry insisted, eyes narrowing in determination. "You just have to hang on. Keep fighting, Aaron, keep fighting. We're going to find Mark and Felix, we're going to get out of here, and it's all going to be okay. There's no other way this ends." Aaron was pale. Blood loss or shock. "Don't you dare give in!" Cry sharply ordered._

"_I feel tired…" Aaron replied, weakly flickering his eyes open. Aaron was… he was dying! Oh f***ing s**t! Cry let loose with a string of curses best not repeated, quickly and desperately working to clean away the blood and wrap the injuries. Aaron watched through glazed eyes. "I'm sorry," he whimpered._

"Oh god, this is happening, this is actually happening," Mark said, sitting and weeping. Yes. Weeping. He sobbed, shaking his head in denial. Part of him wanted to scream to Yami to hold on. He wanted to scream so badly… But that wouldn't bring Aaron back now. It was too late. A video couldn't hear you.

"F***ing hell…" Felix numbly said, lips parted in shock and eyes wide.

Cry sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. Felix turned to him and went to his friend, putting a reassuring and worried hand on his back.

"_Don't talk!" Cry shot. "Don't even go there!"_

"_You-you have to go, dude. Hurry. They're coming," Aaron said. Sure enough voices were nearing. And the voices weren't Mark's or Felix's._

"_I'm not leaving you behind!" Cry shot. Aaron was going limp, though, and his eyes were closed. Cry paled. "Aaron?" he asked. Aaron didn't reply. "Aaron!" Cry exclaimed as the body went limp in his arms. "No, no, no, this isn't happening. Aaron! Aaron, wake up! Aaron!" he begged, shaking the other. No response. He was so pale… "Aaron, please!" Cry begged._ _Cry searched for a pulse. Aaron wasn't breathing anymore. Cry began CPR. There was no response. "Come on. Come on Aaron…" Cry whispered._ _He placed a hand on Aaron's forehead, brushing some hair out of his face. He shook his head in denial and sobbed, covering his mouth and resting his forehead on Aaron's chest for a moment. Quickly he began to try again. "Come on, come on, come on! Aaron, wake up!" he begged, desperately carrying out CPR again._

"_Down there!" a voice called. Cry looked up, eyes wide. The men disguised as mutants! There was no more time. Cry staggered to his feet. He tried to move Aaron, but the mutants were coming. He sobbed, gently laying the other down. "I'm so, so sorry…" he whispered painfully to the body. Quickly he ran into the woods just as the mutants came down the hill with intent to attack._

YT

The man shut the computer. "Poor young man," he said in false sympathy. None of the three others said anything. Felix was worriedly looking from Cry to Mark and back. Cry's hands were balled together and against his forehead. Mark was crying. "Tsk, tsk, at least you tried, Cry," the man said.

"Shut up!" Felix yelled at him viciously.

"Temper, temper," the man said. "Ah well. Time to separate you three, I suppose."

"Open the door, I _dare_ you!" Felix shot. The man's bravado immediately stopped. He was quiet.

"Before Daniel comes, you three will be apart. Mark my words," the man warned. Felix was quiet again. The man left…There was a hissing sound and before any of them fully realized what it was, there was blackness.


	17. Jail Break

**PAX: Living Nightmare**

(A/N: Next chapter is Jacksepticeye centric with maybe some dabbles of the other four making their getaway. Not sure yet. Haven't written it as of currently. But it will certainly center on Jacksepticeye.)

Jail Break

The eccentric—or maniac, whichever one chose to call him—went into his office and picked up a phone, making the call with a smirk on his lips. Within one ring it was picked up. "Top of the mornin' to ya, you insane son of a bitch," Sean's—aka Jacksepticeye's—voice greeted.

The man chuckled darkly. "I need an Agrippa, you know," he said.

"Well that's going to prove ta be a bit of a problem," Sean replied. "See, I don't plan on being your next victim. So, are we doing this thing or not?" he asked. The police were downstairs tracking his call, for all the good it would do, but they were getting somewhere at least. They had established a line of contact. Now, he wasn't any sort of authority on crime, but that seemed to be a _pretty_ important thing to do in situations like this. But don't quote him on it.

"Refresh my memory. The deal was…" the man pushed.

A stupid one on the man's part, Sean inwardly said to himself, but this guy was lost between fantasy and reality, according to Aaron. It was a possibility he didn't see the foolishness of it… Or he was clever enough that he had a way to ensure he held up his end… "I lose, I'll go there of my own free will and do the Agrippa bit. You lose, you let one of me friends go," Sean answered. Either way the police could be led to this perp. He got the suspicion this was too easy, but then who was to say how broken this guy was.

"The game?" the man questioned.

Sean's eyes lit up mischievously. "I Am Bread," he answered. Oh he had this one _so_ won.

The man was silent a good long moment. "Very well," he said. "Let's play."

"I'm ready when you are," Sean answered.

"Tomorrow," the man answered. He wanted to be sure Daniel had properly tortured Basile, Alois, and Malo first. Yes, the man now saw them as the characters he wanted them to be.

"Tonight works better for me," Sean replied.

"Tomorrow," the man stated firmly.

"If you're too scared," Sean answered.

"You're trying very clichéd challenge lines, Jacksepticeye," the man said.

"I know, aren't they great?" Sean replied, smirking.

The man chuckled. "Tonight then," he said.

Sean inwardly cheered. "Tonight it is," he said. The man hung up and Sean blew out a stream of air, sinking back in his chair and relaxing.

Soon an officer came back in. "You did well," he said.

"Did you trace it?" Sean asked.

"Only to the general area," the officer answered.

"Oh… At least it's something, right?" Sean asked, tone a little disheartened but also hopeful.

"It is. And it's going to help us find your friends," the officer assured.

"And what about the family? Can't they lead you to him?" Sean questioned.

"We would use them if they were in any condition to go back there," the officer ruefully said. "But they've been through a very traumatic experience and they are in desperate need of the medical and psychological attention they're receiving. They can't lead us there for a long time yet."

"And by then it'll be too late?" Sean questioned.

"Yes," the officer gravely replied. Sean pursed his lips in frustration. Hopefully the computer trace would do a better job or at least get the authorities more an idea of who the man was.

YT

Mark, Felix, and Cry had been separated into different cells. And stripped. Which had infuriated and terrified all of them. Felix was pacing restlessly. At the moment he was the most stable of them. Cry and Mark were in major emotional turmoil. He was too, but not to as much of a degree. He hadn't been as close to Yami like Mark was, and he hadn't watched him die like Cry had. He sat with a frustrated sigh. How the hell were they going to get out of here? And who the f**k would be playing Daniel?

Cry was leaning against the wall of his cell guilt-stricken but more or less calm otherwise. He should have been able to save their friend… Why couldn't he save Aaron…? And Mark… God only knew how he was feeling right now. Cry swallowed and stood up, going almost uncertainly to the door of his cell. He looked out of it. "Mar…" he began, but he choked off, for a moment chickening out. He swallowed. "Mark?" he called out gently.

Mark sat unmoving in his cell, face buried in his knees. This couldn't be happening to them… Yami… He shouldn't have… He shouldn't have died… He should have made it! Part of him wanted to blame Cry, it really did, but Cry… He had done everything he could to save Aaron's life, just… it hadn't been enough… Nothing any of them had done had been enough. Dammit Aaron… He heard Cry call out to him. His voice was uncertain, guilty, almost afraid of what the response would be. Mark didn't reply.

"Mark, please," Cry called out.

Mark looked up slowly and at the wall in front of him. He blinked. "I don't blame you, Cry," he said in a calm, and perhaps a little hollow, voice. "You did what you could… You did what you could…"

Cry was quiet on hearing this. He swallowed painfully. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him," he said, leaning his forehead against the cell door.

"It's not your fault," Mark said with a weak shrug. "IRL you don't get unlimited lives. We all made some bad choices, Yamimash paid for them."

"It feels like my fault," Cry muttered, angrily glaring at the ground. Viciously he punched the door. Dammit how it felt like his fault.

Felix, until then silent, spoke up. "I think he might be alive," he said.

Cry started. Mark didn't move. "Alive? Why?" Cry asked.

"There was no body when we went back," Felix answered.

"They took it," Mark said pessimistically.

"Well maybe, just… I don't know, it seems off," Felix replied.

"This is IRL, Felix. IRL it would be highly unlikely," Mark said.

"Unless the guy wanted him alive," Felix argued.

"Why would he?" Cry asked.

Felix was quiet. "Good point," he finally replied. But he had his theories. Just… now probably wasn't a good time to share them. Cry and Mark were still trying to come to terms with the idea that Aaron was dead, let alone coming to terms with the idea of him actually being alive still. Felix looked towards the door to the dungeons expectantly. They'd been told Daniel was coming. Odds were that by now he—whoever he was—was almost here. Felix swallowed. He did _not_ approve of the idea of torture.

YT

Aaron neared the door and unlocked it with the keys. It echoed loudly and he swallowed. He didn't want to know what he'd find in there. According to the plan he and Sean had devised, Sean would have the maniac busy right about now with his challenge, which meant the man wouldn't be watching the cameras which meant he could get Mark, Felix, and Cry out. It was a matter of them all staying under his radar until help came, or more preferably getting out of his neck of the woods altogether before he even noticed. They were putting a lot of faith in the man's shaky mental state, though. They were hoping for a lot that probably wasn't so, and if this plan backfired, Aaron honestly wouldn't be surprised. It was all they had, though.

He entered the place his friends were being kept. His footsteps echoed. He went to the nearest cell and glanced in. Felix was there. He'd heard someone coming and was now watching the window dangerously. He looked ready to fight his way out if he had to. Good. Aaron took the keys and unlocked the door. Felix lunged. Aaron threw it open. Felix stopped with a gasp. "Oh my…!" he began, eyes wide.

"Shh!" Aaron sharply hissed, covering his mouth. "Not so loud, dude. Not ready to go to the other two yet."

Felix nodded numbly, eyes wide in shock. "Felix?" Cry's worried voice called.

Aaron uncovered Felix's mouth. "Sorry, saw a creepy looking barrel," Felix lamely replied. Cry didn't even question. He honestly thought Felix was losing his mind. Felix grabbed Aaron in a tight hug, willing back tears. Aaron gasped in pain but didn't cry out. He hugged Felix back then the two pulled apart. "It makes sense now," Felix whispered.

"What does?" Aaron questioned.

"That crazy mother… He told Mark that by the end of the torture session he'd be Malo. I'm gonna guess you're supposed to be Daniel, right? So if Mark was tortured by you and couldn't get through to you or you didn't listen or you betrayed us, it would make sense!"

Aaron blinked. "Okay then," he said. Wow, the nut job up there was disturbed… "Put some clothes on, dude," Aaron said, tossing a long white shirt at Felix and some pants he'd found in the wardrobes. Points for authenticity, Aaron inwardly told himself. Felix began to dress all too happily, as quietly Aaron started towards Cry's cell, beckoning for Felix to follow when he was done.

YT

Aaron moved to Cry's cell and tapped on the bars. Cry looked over at them and saw nothing. He rose guardedly and went towards them. "I take it you're Daniel?" he called to whoever was out there. The lock clicked. Cry leapt back, ready to fight to try and get away. The door opened. Cry blinked in the sudden light of a lantern, grimacing and covering his eyes. He got used to the light and looked up. "Whoa!" he exclaimed in alarm. First thought that came to his mind was ghost, but that couldn't be! Wait…

"Dude, calm down," a familiar voice hissed.

Cry's mouth dropped. No. Way. "A-Aaron," he gasped out, eyes filling with relief and uncertainty at the same time. "I swear to god I didn't know you were still alive!" he insisted.

"Easy, dude. What am I, some vengeful spirit? Look, we need to get you guys out of here fast," Aaron said. "I'm supposed to be torturing you right about now, but Sean and I…" Aaron began.

"Sean? You mean Jacksepticeye?" Cry asked.

"Yeah. We came up with a plan that's going to hopefully buy us time to get out," Aaron said. "I have to get Mark." He turned to go. Cry suddenly turned him around and hugged him. "I get the feeling I'm going to be hugged a lot," Aaron deadpanned. He turned, hugging Cry back.

Cry let him go. "I'm glad you're okay. I'm… I'm sorry I left you…" he said.

"Dude, I would have done the same," Aaron replied. "Better one of us escaped than neither of us."

"I guess," Cry replied. He didn't completely agree. "I'm thinking it was more cowardice on my part, though."

"I doubt it, man. There's a pretty big difference between cowardice and common sense," Aaron replied, smirking. "Here, get some clothes on." Cry snatched them all too willingly. He felt incredibly violated at the moment by that whack job upstairs or wherever the hell he was. No, not like that you jaded… ugh, forget it. He began to dress as Aaron headed to Mark's cell and Felix joined Cry.

YT

Mark was quiet. The cell door opened. He didn't bother turning, just kept looking at the wall with an aggravated expression. He hated everything at the moment. And by everything he _meant_ everything. Someone was approaching. Mark glanced in the other direction, looking for something to use as a weapon. If he couldn't find one he'd just fight. He wasn't sitting here doing nothing while some nut job came to torture him and his friends. No way. No thank you. He wasn't going down that easily.

"Damn you look depressed," a voice said.

Mark tensed, eyes slowly widening. No. Way. His head whipped around, mouth agape. No way! He rose numbly and blinked. Was he going crazy, he wondered? "Y-Yami?" he asked, a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

"In the flesh, no hallucination, no figment of the imagination, I am very much alive and very much well," Aaron replied, smirking at his friend. Mark couldn't even move, still gawking. This could _not_ be.

"But-but you… I saw you… I mean the video…" Mark stammered. He trailed off. Screw it. He immediately crossed the cell and grabbed Aaron in a tight hug, sobbing. "You're alive! You lucky bastard, you're alive! Aaron, you're alive. You're actually here, you…" he laughed giddily, hugging his friend tighter and spinning him around.

Aaron held him back, smiling, then drew away and cleared his throat, willing away the relieved burning sensation in his eyes. "Get some clothes on man, before this gets more awkward than it already is. You have any idea the sort of fanfiction that could spring from this?" he joked. He handed Mark the last set of clothes.

Mark snatched them. "Yes! Finally! Clothes!" he cheered. "Oh clothes how I missed you!" Immediately he began to don them.

"By the way, found your little biscuit again," Aaron said, handing the box over.

"Tiny Box Tim!" Mark exclaimed excitedly, snatching it. "Oh Tiny Box Tim I missed you, my little biscuit!"

"Why can't you fine Stephano for _me_, Cry?" Felix demanded of Cry teasingly.

"Felix, I promise the minute I do I'll give him to you," Cry replied, smirking. He looked at the clothes they were wearing. "Wow these are old fashioned."

"Now you three _really_ can personify Malo, Alois, and Basile," Aaron teased.

"You've nailed _Daniel's_ style," Felix said to him.

"We might as well nail _our_ characters' styles too," Cry added.

"The crazed butt stabber's going to find us soon. If he sees you let us go without the torture thing, things might not end too well for us," Mark said.

"No problem. Sean's all over the distraction thing," Aaron said.

"Jacksepticeye?" Mark asked, startled.

"The crazed butt stabber wanted an Agrippa. I convinced him to call Sean. Figured any connection to the outside was good. Sean and I came up with a plan. Well, mainly Sean. Look, there's no time to explain right now. Let's just move. We don't have all that long. I have no idea how long Sean's going to be able to keep him occupied for," Aaron said. Immediately the four hurried to get out of the basement, out of the house, and somewhere far where they could hopefully escape to freedom or at least stay hidden until help came.


End file.
